The Search for Saltwater Taffy
by Sabaku no Hime
Summary: Rated M. COMPLETE! Ino is pregnant, and needs saltwater taffy! Enter Sakura, Rock Lee and Tenten, all three to the rescue. Who knew it would be so hard to find? A Naruto style take on Rapunzel with romance abounding... sort of. M
1. Shikamaru's Plight

**The Search for Saltwater Taffy**

**Subaku no Hime: **The idea for this hit me one night at work, while I was having a craving. I'm not pregnant, but do you know how _hard _it is to find saltwater taffy? Again, and I guess as usual, this is all right off the top of my head. (uploading off the top of my head without editing the storyline is becoming a habit. All I wrote out was a quick plot draft. If you happen to have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to let me know. My goal is to make readers smile;)

**Summary:** Rapunzel on crack, Naruto style. Ino is pregnant, and charges Shikamaru with getting her some saltwater taffy to fill her craving. No one in Konoha has any, so he asks some friends to help him out. The group searches far and wide, only to end up in the last place they ever thought they'd find it, now the only problem is getting it…

**Disclaimer:** Standard. Naruto, not mine. Rapunzel? Brothers Grimm. And originally, it isn't anything like the cheerified, cartoony Disney tale… it was dark. I own nothing, except my darned broken toaster and a computer that's seen better days.

**Shikamaru's Plight**

Ino glared at her husband with a deadly gleam in her lovely blue eyes. 'It's your fault, you creep,' she grated out. 'It's all your fault that I'm pregnant.'

'Takes two,' he replied, leaning back against the chair he was sitting on as Ino bustled around the kitchen, searching for something to nibble on. His beloved wife was five months along, and starting to show. There was a small bulge in the belly of her purple outfit, and she was self-conscious about it, although he loved it.

She whirled to glare at him, long, gleaming blond hair flying out around her like a halo of molten white gold. 'It takes two? Are you blaming _me_ for this? _Me?_' she gritted her teeth at him, a sure sign she was getting pissed.

Shikamaru decided it was time to placate his little wife, because she got scary when she was angry. He wondered what would do it this time. 'No dear, I'm not blaming you for it, all I'm saying is that it takes two to make a baby,'

From her glare, he figured out that maybe this wasn't the very best thing to say to her. She simply snorted in disgust, and rooted around the cupboards, rattling the canned food and candies she'd hidden there for midnight cravings.

'What? There's no candy here? What the hell is going on?' she gritted, and turned to face him. 'Did you eat all the candy, hon?'

'No dear,' he replied, and at her glare, he shriveled in his seat. 'Maybe some of the neighbor kids came by, and they found some candy… ?' he finished lamely.

'That's likely it,' she agreed. 'But I need some more candy, love,' she smirked.

'I'll go to the store soon then,' he replied.

He didn't really want to go to the store, nor anywhere, but he knew that it was the most likely thing to do. If he didn't he'd end up having to placate her for hours, or rub her feet. He didn't really mind, but he was tired. He'd had a long day, hours of training, and a briefing for a mission he'd be taking in a few days.

He shook his head at the thought of himself taking extra missions. Not like him at all, but he figured if he wanted to take care of his wife and child, then he'd better do something. After all, she wouldn't be able to work for at least a year after giving birth, and he hoped to have her pregnant again by htat time.

So, he'd just had to give up his lazy, lazy ways and make a bit of extra cash. Not so bad, he told himself daily. It had to be worth it. Children were supposed to be lots of fun.

Though they required work.

But Ino wanted babies too. So he kind of had to do something.

Oh well.

'What do you need at the market, dear? I found a place that has those milk candies,' he offered. 'It took a while, but they got them in.'

'I need…' she paused for a moment, considering, 'saltwater taffy,' she finised.

'Saltwater taffy?' she nodded at him. 'No problem dear,' he smirked.

'I want apple flavor, and I want mint, and strawberry, and I want some of the toffee flavor taffies,' she smiled, imagining the flavors in her mouth, and the satisfying chew of good taffy.

'Okay dear,' shikamaru sighed, and walked out of the large house they shared with a small family. They had it split down the middle, and each family paid for half of everything. It was much more cost effective that way. After all, lazy as he was, he had his pride, and he didn't want to borrow money off of Ino's parents. His own would help if he asked, but he didn't.

He could support his wife and child all by himself, thank you very much.

A few hours later, Shikamaru ran into Naruto and Sakura. He was panting heavily, and had a worried look on his face.

'What's the matter?' Sakura asked solicitously. 'Is Ino running you off your feet again?' she laughed.

'Sort of,' he replied, abashed. 'I've been looking for saltwater taffy for her, because she has a craving, but I cant find any in Konoha.'

'Really?' Naruto asked. 'Why don't you just take her some ramen? Ramen makes everything better.'

Sakura glared at her old friend. He still hadn't learned, although Hinata wasn't the type to make any demands of her husband. She was too busy worshipping him.

Although to be fair, Naruto worshipped his sweet little wife as well.

'Saltwater taffy?' she mused. 'Didn't the small shop at the edge of the village on the Waterfall side have some?'

'No. I've been there.' He replied. 'There is _no_ saltwater taffy in Konoha.'

'I wonder why?' Naruto mused.

'It's not easy to make, Naruto kun,' Sakura offered. 'No one really likes making it because it's messy, and takes a whole lot of work to do. Not to mention it has to be really hot for a while before you can do anything with it.'

'Oh,' he replied. 'Then why did people invent it?'

Sakura could only chuckle at that. 'You figure the confectioner would have ordered some if they didn't want to make it, wouldn't you?'

Shikamaru sighed. 'This isn't helping me any. I have to find some, or Ino will be…_angry._' Sakura could feel his shudder at that.

'Okay Shikamaru, we'll help you find some.' Sakura offered.

'You're such a –'

'Are you sure you want to say that, Naruto kun?' sakura asked sweetly.

'Eh-heh. Umm, say what? I wasn't going to say anything.' He replied, scratching at the back of his head.

'Good boy, or I might not do your laundry while Hinata chan is away for that Hyuuga clan function.' She threatened.

Inner Sakura cheered her on, '_yatta! Good girl! Don't put up with that crap from the Naruto boy. And don't put up with crap from Ino pig's husband, either.'_

'So what do we do?' she asked Naruto and Shikamaru. 'Do we send out a distress call to all the hidden villages for saltwater taffy for a pregnant woman?'

'I can't help with this one, Sakura,' Naruto offered sheepishly. 'I have a lot of practice to do. Jiraya sensei has a move he wants to teach me, and then I'm playing with something new on the Rasengan.'

'Well then,' she said. _–Traitor!-_ inner Sakura screamed. 'How are we doing this, Shikamaru?'

'Umm,' he shifted his eyes sideways, towards the back of the retreating Naruto.

'You have no idea either, do you?'

'Umm, sorry?' he shrugged. 'I don't know what to do. Ino will freak out if I can't find her any of this taffy stuff.'

'Can you pacify her with something else in the meantime? She's a cutie. She'll calm donw once she knows people are trying to help her.' Sakura offered with a half smile.

It was true that Ino was a cutie, but she wasn't sure how true it would be about her calming donw.

'I have an idea,' Sakura mused.

'I'll just bring her some of the milk candies until we can find the stuff.' He offered, lazily. 'How soon do you think you can find it?'

'Well,' she gave him the look. 'I can't expect you to leave your pregnant wife while you search for saltwater taffy, so I guess I'll have to ask for some help.' She looked over at him slyly.

'How much?'

'Cost of taffy, and whatever the others want. I'm on days off from the hospital right now.' She grumbled. 'Tsunade sensei decided I needed a vacation or I'd go nuts. So I'm pretty bored.'

'Who are you going to ask?' he queried.

'I don't know. I'll let you know when I put a team together.'

Shikamaru sighed at the retreating pink haired kunoichi. Who knew finding some saltwater taffy would turn into a mission that required a team of seasoned shinobi to complete?

He sighed again, slumped his shoulders and went in search of the chewy milk candies.

Poor Ino.

Poor himself.

**Subaku no Hime**: read, and please review. Rapunzel on crack, and saltwater taffy instead of rampion. If anyone has an idea what rampion is, let me know in review please. I'd like to see what everyone's opinion is.

Rating will go up sooner or later, but I don't know how much.


	2. Sakura's plight

**The Search For Saltwater Taffy**

**Subaku no Hime:** been a while, ne? Sorry dears, I've been quite busy, and figuring out the plotline for my other story has been a pain in the butt.

Anywho, on with the show…

(Disclaimer: I own nothing…nothing I tell ya! Well, maybe a couple saltwater taffy candies that I bought after finally finding them)

**Chapter 2**

**Sakura's plight.**

Sakura had run around Konoha for hours, trying to put together a team of taffy finders. You'd figure in a village of ninja, finding two more idle shinobi would be easy, but _nooooo._ It was one big pain in the arse. She'd ended up begging Rock Lee to help her, and in his devotion, slavish as it was; he'd declined a well-paying mission to help Sakura.

Then she'd wandered around for an hour or so until she ran into Tenten sitting on a bench by the monument. She had tears in her eyes, and had placed some flowers. Sakura wasn't going to bother her, but Tenten turned around before she could make an escape.

'Sakura?' she asked, sniffling a little.

'You okay?' she asked quietly.

'Yeah. I'm fine. We've all lost loved ones.' She mused aloud, looking back at the monument. Sakura didn't want to ask who Tenten had lost, lest she disrespect the memory.

'But we have memories to keep us going,' she agreed, kneeling by the bench, hugging her knees.

'You need something?' Tenten asked, always frightfully perceptive. 'I can probably help you with it.'

'Are you sure? Isn't' this your day off?'

'Yeah, but I'm bored. This was all I had to do all day. What's going on?'

Sakura sighed. 'Ino wants saltwater taffy. Shikamaru is scared, and there's no taffy to be had in Konoha.'

'Sounds like a mission of mercy for poor Shikamaru,' Tenten chuckled loudly.

'Yeah, now I need a fourth person.'

'Where's Naruto?'

'Training. Rock Lee will be going with us, but I don't know where to start.' Sakura sighed, shoulders dipping dejectedly.

'Meet at the gates in an hour,' Tenten's eyes sparkled cheerfully. 'I have an idea.'

'Okay…'Sakura blinked at Tenten's swiftly retreating form.

Sakura packed quickly, three days worth of clothing, unsure of how long they'd be gone looking. She brought along bandages, since she knew she'd need them if she didn't have them.

She debated on the extra holster of kunai and shuriken, but decided against it, after all, they'd be in allied lands for at least most of their trip, and if they left, she still had her monstrous strength.

Sakura finished her tea, locking the pink and white apartment, deciding that she really needed to redo her color scheme. Pink was all great and good, but what about blues and greens? Black? White? Teal?

She ran hurriedly to the gates of Konoha, seeing Rock Lee and Tenten standing around waiting.

'Sorry I'm late,' she huffed. 'I had to pack that extra roll of bandages.'

'You're not late, Sakura san,' Rock Lee offered, doing his nice guy pose. Sakura and Tenten cringed at the audible _shing_ when his teeth sparkled. 'Tenten was very early, and so was I.'

'Oh. I still feel a little late.'

'Don't worry Sakura chan. Let's just go,' Tenten replied.

'Alright, Tenten chan. Where are we going to anyhow?' Sakura asked, curious as to what the weaponsmistress had in mind for their first target.

'I'm thinking we go to the closest allied country.' Tenten offered as they started walking westward.

'Amegakure?' Sakura asked quietly.

'Yep,' Rock Lee replied. After that, we head off to Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, and think about going to stone or sand afterwards.'

'Are we allied with stone at the moment?' Sakura asked as they took to the treetops.

'I dunno. But they might have taffy.'

'What does it matter if they have taffy if we die trying to get into an unallied country?' Sakura shrieked. 'I love Ino too, but I won't die for her.'

'Then Sunagakure it is.' Rock Lee replied quietly

They bedded down that night in the crook of a tree each. Rock Lee decided that he'd take watch all night, much to piss of Sakura and Tenten. They ended up bashing him over the head and knocking him out, so they split watch duty between themselves.

Sakura actually decided she'd heal the knot on his head while she was on watch, after all, the last thing she needed was one of her teammates dying from massive cranial hemorrhaging beside her.

She was relaxed, and it was almost dawn when she started hearing little noises.

_Rookies,_ she thought to herself in disgust. _I don't know if I want to bash them in for stupidity or just leave them alone because I'm tired._

Fatigue won out, and Sakura just lay back in the tree.

That is, until a kunai whizzed by her nose, thunking solidly6 into the trunk beside her.

'_Baka, baka, baka! Baka no baka!_' she yelled. 'You are the stupidest idiots that ever crawled out from under the great tree of stupidity to have your brains bashed in.'

'Let's play with her,' said one voice, coming out of the bush to reveal a shinobi with a scratch through his waterfall hitae-ate. 'She looks like she's hiding tits under that getup.'

'You'll never find out.' Sakura replied bluntly as she jumped down from the tree.

'Sakura san,' Lee chastised. 'Why are you hogging all the fun?'

'I thought you two were sleeping?' she replied, tossing a kunai at one of the six shinobi that just stood there watching the conversation as if the pair were mad.

The mist nin barely caught the kunai in time, and Sakura glanced over. 'Be glad that didn't puncture, baka,' she growled. 'I poisoned it.'

She watched the nin drop the kunai as if it would kill him, which it could. The poison was a contact solution, but only extended. It took about five minutes to get into the system through the skin.

'Umm,' one of the nins offered. 'Ano, are you going to sit there talking, or are we going to beat the hell out of you two?'

'Two?' Sakura chuckled. 'There's more than two of us, dimwit,'

'And, there's my cue,' Tenten offered, landing softly by her friends. 'Do you want to die? Or are you going to go away?'

'We have to kill them, Tenten san,' Rock Lee offered respectfully. 'They are missing nin. We don't have a choice.'

'But they didn't hurt us yet,'

'Hey, one of those bakas threw a kunai at my nose,' Sakura wrinkled said appendage in disgust.

'There, we have our reason. They assaulted one of our teammates. You can't argue with that one, Tenten,' Rock Lee guided her elbow so that she faced the enemy.

'But I'

'Ano, are you going to blather all day, or can we have the girls some time today?' one of the nins asked loudly. Sakura noticed that he was one of the smaller ones in the back.

'Do shut up, baka,' Sakura tossed at them. 'We're trying to decide whether or not you're worth our time to kill.'

'Decide this, bitch,' Sakura saw him prep his move ages before he actually executed, so she had more than enough time to fill her fist with chakra and smash him in the belly, knocking him into a tree, where he made a large dent.

'Hey, don't hurt the trees, dimwit!' Rock Lee yelled at the man. 'Trees are good for the environment.'

Assorted growls precursed the attack, which was en masse. The nins had decided that they could overpower the chuunin and jounin in numbers.

Rock Lee ran around several, twisting them up, making them dizzy as he went in for the occasional smack with his immense speed. The three he was taking care of stood back to back, trying to defend themselves.

Tenten looked disappointed. 'Why do we only get two?'

'We had three.' Sakura replied as she parried a kunai thrust. 'Can I, or would you like to?'

'I wouldn't want to get in your way, Saku chan.' Tenten shrugged.

'My way? Don't be silly Tenten dear,' she replied as Tenten smashed one of the buffoons in the face and she heard the sickening crack and scream of broken bone. 'If you want, they're all yours.'

'Kay, thanks, Saku chan,' Tenten replied, biting her thumb and leaping up.

Instantly, she had a scroll out of one of her pouches, and dragged her bloody thumb across it, summoning all her fun and pointy weapons to fall on the dimwits.

Said dimwits screamed blue murder and tried to scramble away as they were pierced with pointy, bladed metal things. Tenten couldn't help her smirk as she watched the bad, bad missing nin spurt blood out of the many new perforations she'd given them.

Their lifeblood spewed out on the grass, occasionally spurting out a chunk of organ that got diced by the piercings.

At least it was quick, if a little gory.

The trio took off after divesting the shinobi of anything that might be useful as a weapon, or a missing nin secret. Sakura summoned her bird friend and sent her off to Konoha with a message about the location of the nin bodies that they'd stuffed into a tree for the time being.

A few hours later, they found a stream to wash off the sweat, and kept going towards the land of rain.

Sakura estimated they'd be there by nightfall if there were no more… interruptions.

**Subaku no Hime.** Next chapter they hit Amegakure and Kumogakure in search of taffy. We'll go quickly through that, as there's no taffy to be had there, this is a sandsib and Konoha romance, so where is the taffy?

Luff and thanks for reading. Have an awesome day!!


	3. Through Rain and Lightning

**The Search For Saltwater Taffy**

**Sabaku no Hime** again it's been a while. I feel like I've been letting this story lie fallow while I write call me. I really enjoy writing it, it makes me giggle, but it's not a very well thought out plotline. There's due to be more fighting and some fluffy stuff, but nothing too serious. I guess this is my antidote since Gaara is pretty angsty in my other one.

**Chapter 3**

**Through Amegakure and Kumogakure (rain and lighting, respectively)**

Tenten was picking her nails with a kunai.

That wouldn't be so bad, but she was flicking the crust from clinging onto trees down to the next branch. Where Sakura was sitting.

She glared up and growled.

'Oh, sorry,' Tenten had the grace to blush and start flicking the other way. Which earned her a pained '_Tenten,_' from Rock Lee.

Heh.

'Well, I can see a confectioner from here, but we might want to ask around. The hidden village of Rain isn't too big, but none of us know it,' Tenten finally said, relinquishing her dirt flicking spot to move lower.

Sakura, out of imminent danger of nail dirt in her hair, smiled cheerfully. 'Well, let's go. We're allied, aren't we?'

'Sort of,' Rock Lee ventured. 'They are on several trade treaties with Konoha, but there's nothing about safe passage for unscrolled missions.'

'Hrm.' Sakura mused for a minute. 'Well, they can't really fault us. We're just looking for candy.' She chuckled.

'Yes, but we might be scouting the candy stores as a possible way to poison the civilian populace of Amegakure.' Tenten offered.

'_Nani?' _ Sakura asked. 'What the hell? Who would do something like that? What an evil thing to- 'enlightenment dawned on her face. 'When did I miss this?'

'While you went away with Tsunade sama to train for that six months. Someone poisoned the entire cropland of Waterfall. They're very protective of their consumables.' Rock Lee told her.

'That had to be Orochimaru, wasn't it?' Sakura asked.

'They think it was the Akatsuki,' Rock Lee replied casually.

'Itachi?' At Tenten and Lee's nod, Sakura winced. 'Damn that Uchiha. I could almost hate him if he weren't so damnably hot.'

'Yeah,' Tenten replied with a dreamy sigh. 'But he's a royal ass.'

'All the Uchihas living are asses.' Lee told them.

'Good point. But really, really sexy asses anyway.' Tenten replied.

'You looked? When?' Sakura glared at her in a mock threatening way.

'Wha- oh, hell.' She blushed.

'Don't worry, I won't tell Itachi,' Lee teased evilly. 'Let's go, ladies. Youth waits for no one.'

'That's right, Rock,' Sakura put in. 'We're all going to be grey haired and wrinkly by the time we get into Rain.'

Shaking her head, Tenten preceded Lee and, followed by Sakura, made her way to the high gates of Amegakure, the hidden village of the rain.

Sakura growled angrily as the rain pelted her hair, plastering it to her neck and draining down her back in cold rivulets.

'Why me?' she lamented.

'Maybe because you hit on her boyfriend?' Tenten asked innocently, looking none the worse for wear under a heavy soaking of cold rain.

'How was I to know it would be like this?'

'Maybe because she wore the hitae-ate of Rain, Sakura san?' Lee questioned, starting to shiver under the onslaught.

'Yeah, but the rain is over _just us_. This is some kind of evil jutsu, I tell you,' she went dotty eyed at Lee's negative head shake.

He pulled a chalkboard and a lab coat out of his arse (not literally) and pointed at the board, glasses covered eyes swirling. 'The reason this jutsu is so strong is the fact that she's ANBU, and atop that, she is angry because he flirted back with you. The rain from said clouds…..'

Sakura and Tenten ignored his ongoing lesson on how rain is formed to confer. 'Why hasn't it stopped? She only has _so_ much chakra.'

'I don't think a small cloud over three people is a very big chakra drain, Sakura,' Tenten replied.

'Maybe it'll stop when we hit the border-'

'There you are _you bitch! You tried to steal my man, eat water jutsu –fireicerainball jutsu'_ the nin screamed, running towards them at full tilt, a ball of cloud that looked like it was flaming circling her hand obediently.

'Run!' Sakura screamed.

The trio kept running until they were all about to fall over. Lee ended up doing so as they crossed the border to Lightning country.

'Well, it stopped,' Sakura offered lamely.

'Yeah.' Tenten agreed, disgruntled. 'It only took us ten kilometers into Lightning to make her stop.

'But-' she mused, knowing there was no excuse. 'He was hot, and he was looking at me like he was single.'

Lee facefaulted. 'Can't you recognize a leer from a pervy jerk when you see one, Sakura san?' he asked. 'You would break me into a thousand bits if I ever did that to you.'

'Yes, I would.' She agreed. 'But we need to find a place to camp for the night and start a fire. We need to dry out.'

The other two agreed tiredly.

'At least we're almost at Kumogakure,' Sakura offered brightly, trying to make them not hate her.

'Let's just… camp,' Tenten offered, noticing a forest a few minutes jog away. 'I bet there's a river in there.'

'Maybe we can find a natural hot spring.'

'Not here,' Lee said. 'It's too low to have a natural hot spring. I think we need to be closer to mountains to find one.'

'Grrr.' she said.

Finally, they dried out, their fingers losing the pruney look and skin dehydrating enough that they didn't look like water-bloated corpses anymore.

Unfortunately, most of their food was soaked right through, due to the fact that they weren't expecting a portable flood. So Sakura was stuck riffling around for berries and edible roots as Lee and Tenten hunted. They wouldn't let her hunt because she was a mednin. They had some sort of odd notion that killing something and seeing guts was different than seeing living guts that were dying.

Whatever.

She ended up finding some late blackberries and some mushrooms. She was really careful about the mushrooms, since there were a few poisonous ones in Lightning that looked like the edible ones in Leaf.

Waking up late the next morning, they made their way to Kumogakure, which was a very comfortable ally with Leaf. The Raikage was a regular visitor to Tsunade's big dinners, which she held once a month.

'How can there be no saltwater taffy in three countries?' Sakura screamed in rage, trying to pull her hair out with squiggly tears running down her face.

'Yeah, on to Suna,' Lee agreed glumly. 'Can we rest the night in an inn? And maybe resupply? It's going to take a few days to get to Suna from here, though it's closer than Suna from Konoha.'

Sakura shrugged, and went to a bar to have some warm sake.

She ended up coming out later, utterly wasted with a pretty black haired boy supporting her weight.

'You're comin home with me, right?' he asked.

'Not bloody likely,' she snorted, wondering where her teammates were. Wondering where the inn was that they were spending the night at.

'Well, you will anyway.' He told her.

'No,' Sakura replied, drunk and petulant. 'You can't make me.'

'Yes I can. I'm bigger than you.' He told her, nuzzling into her ear.

'Yeah, but I'm stronger. I'm also a ninja. So piss off,'

'Do I have to hurt you?' he asked, chuckling as his hand moved up her ribcage and came into contact with her breast bindings.

Sakura gave him a sarcastic frown. 'Baka,' she snorted. 'Back away now, and I won't hurt you,'

'Hehhhhh,' he sighed. 'Fine then. I guess you don't want to know where you can find your taffy then, eh?'

'Not from you, dimwit.' She said.

His black eyes met her bleary green ones and he broke out laughing. 'You can't even tell, can you?' he asked, and at her confused look didn't elaborate.

'In Sunagakure. You can find saltwater taffy there. There's a small house on the edge of town with a small, walled garden. They make it once a week, and won't mind some missing,' he told her.

'Why are you telling me this?' she asked.

'I'm causing shit. But you can actually find taffy there, if you're brave.' He mocked, allowing his Sharingan to swirl.

'Sasuke?' she asked, shocked.

'No little kunoichi. I'm the elder.' He told her.

'Then why?'

'I'm on vacation.' He shrugged. 'I don't always kill people all the time. I do have hobbies you know.'

'I thought killing _was_ your hobby?'

'I guess I left myself wide open for that,' he laughed, taking her shoulders under his arm. 'Don't worry, little Cherry Blossom. I'm too lazy to harm you. Besides, you've kept me entertained tonight. I won't mention anything about seeing you outside Konoha to the rest of the Akatsuki,'

'Did you poison Waterfall?' she asked bluntly.

'No.' he looked at her eyes. 'Why would I poison a whole country? That's pretty big, even for us.'

'That's just what I heard.'

'Then the rumor mill is giving us extra credit,' he chuckled at her. 'No, we didn't, though I'm not above taking credit for it if it'll help me.'

'Why am I not dead?' she asked quietly.

'I told you, Sakura, you kept me entertained.' He smirked and whispered into her ear, just close enough that his breath brushed it, sending shivers down her spine. 'Though the part where you started dancing with me was pretty heavy,'

'I didn't know who you were then,' she said. (seems kind of familiar)

'And?'

'And I don't care now. I'd still do it again.' She smirked at him. 'I'd like to go back to my inn now.' She glanced off to the side, head weaving as she tried to figure out where her team was.

'I'll take you there. For a price.'

Sakura knew exactly what kind of price Itachi was trying to get out of her. How could she not? She'd danced with him, cuddled with him, gotten drunk with him.

'I want one of your earrings,' he told her, motioning at the surgical steel captive rings through several punctures in each ear.

'Wha?'

'Just to remind me that even the bitterest enemies can become more and less than they are. To remind me that things are never what they seem on the surface.' He smirked. 'And you get one of mine.'

'That's kinda weird.' She blinked up at him.

'Yes, but I don't have any bracelets or anything to trade.'

'But we're not friends.' She said.

'But neither are we enemies as much as before. You know I'm human, and I know you're human too. We have personalities. If things were different, we'd be friends.'

'That's likely true,' she agreed, letting him unclip a hoop from her lobe. 'We seem to get along quite well.'

'Your teammates can't see us, by the way. They've been looking at you for hours,' he told her with a small laugh.

'Why's that?' she asked.

'They're worried. I'll dispel the illusion as soon as I'm away from you,' he told her, fixing the hoop in his ear, and putting a small barbell through her lobe.

'Hell,' he cursed.

'Wha?'

'I lost the bead. Dammit.' He swore.

'there,' she pointed to the cuff of his shirt. 'Hold still,' she retrieved it quickly. 'I'm too drunk to put it in though,'

Itachi Uchiha took the bead from her hands, fixed it onto the bar in her ear and kissed her on the forehead gently.

'You're sweet, Sakura.' He told her. 'If things were different, you'd have never been in love with Sasuke.'

Then he turned and walked away, swallowed by the shadows.

'SAKURA CHAN _where the hell were you?_' Lee yelled at her from five feet away.

'Getting drunk.' She told him.

'Come back to the inn. You can sleep off the excess and use your youthful energy to avoid a hangover.' He told her, taking her by the arm and guiding her into a small, warmly lit building. He led her up some stairs and through a door to a dark room where she promptly tripped over Tenten.

'You smell like a keg, Sakura,' she grumbled and turned over. 'It's about time Lee found you.'

'Meh,' she said. 'I didn't know you'd be lookin' for me. I thought I was pretty clear that I wanted to get nicely drunk.'

'We did too. You took off before we could tell you.'

'I thought you'd meet me there.'

'We've been looking for hours.' Tenten growled at her.

'I ran into someone,' she said lamely.

'We're your team Sakura, you don't leave your team while on assignment.' Lee chastised.

'I did gather some intelligence though,' she said, not wanting to reveal the fact that she'd been illusioned to be invisible to them, and run into Itachi. 'I know where we can find taffy.'

'Good,' Tenten murmured. 'We'll leave in the morning. But you stay with us for the rest of the trip. No going anywhere without at least one of us, okay? We were so worried we nearly died. Lee was about to lay eggs.'

'Sorry.'

**Sabaku no Hime.** Well, there it is. It's partly filler, but the Itachi thing was important, I just didn't know until it came out. It certainly wasn't planned. He just… showed up. Sakura is coming off as unreliable and a massive screw up here, which isn't how I meant it to be, I'm just illustrating that no matter who you are, or how perfect you are, everyone makes mistakes. And Itachi? That has a purpose too. Even the most evil villain usually has some redeeming qualities to them. Most of the time.

This chapter was supposed to end with them having taffy, too. They were supposed to breeze through Rain and Lightning and have taffy by now. Instead, Sakura had to be horny. Bad girl. But who can blame her. Itachi is pretty.

Regardless, I'm not Sakura bashing, she's one of my favorite characters in the whole series. She grows and changes, even though she has a normal past aside from being made fun of. She matures a lot, and it's really nice to see that someone who starts off weak like that can become so immensely strong.


	4. Suna at Last

**The Search for Saltwater Taffy**

**Sabaku no Hime:** I owe you all an apology. I've left this story for far too long. Truth be told, the only reason I'm writing it now is due to my natural escapism. There was a death in the family on Friday morning, when I got to work I answered my cell. Yeah. That night I got profoundly drunk and had a good bawl at the man friend, but I'm having a hard time coping with it. I think the story's likely changed, and I'm writing from a different angle now, but I'll try to mesh it ok.

Disclaimer…standard. Me no own. Bleah.

**5 Sunagakure at Last…**

'There it is,' Lee whispered, 'that's the house that you described to us…'

Sakura and Tenten looked askance at Lee, wondering why he was whispering.

'Lee, relax.' Sakura chided gently. 'We're in the middle of Suna. We can't do anything right now, and even if we could, there's no taffy there.'

Tenten squinted at the sills and nodded her confirmation. 'When did your contact say the stuff was made?'

'Once a week,' Sakura replied, not willing to tell them who her contact was, still. They'd been pestering her for details on the trip over, but she didn't want to tell them that Itachi gave her information.

'Let's get some rooms then,' Lee said, frowning down into his wallet.

'I've got it,' Sakura smirked

'So why can't we just go up and buy it again?' Tenten asked.

'Apparently, the people that live there are hostile to non Suna shinobi.' She replied quickly. 'So our best bet is to just take it and leave some money for them to make up for what we take.'

'You know this could strain relations with Suna, right Sakura chan?' Lee asked 'And we might need to stay here for another six days just to get the taffy, right?'

'I know.' Sakura replied. 'So let's see what we can see while we're here. Tsunade shisou said she didn't have anything pressing for any of us yet,'

'I have to go back in a day or two,' Tenten offered regretfully, 'I have some stuff to take care of,'

'We all know you're ANBU, Tenten,' Sakura said softly to the other girl. 'You don't need to use the _stuff to take care of_ with us.'

'I know, but this is Suna. We're from Konoha.'

'Yeah, maybe best to get some local clothing?' Sakura chuckled. 'The hitae-ate kinda stick out, don't they?'

'But we can't get Suna hitae-ate,' Lee said. 'And it's going to be hard to pretend to _not_ be shinobi,'

'True, but I can be a klutz when I want to,' Sakura laughed, walking towards an open air clothing stall with a small stumble to emphasize her point.

'Why are we doing this again?' Tenten asked quietly, shifting the uncomfortable mesh under the loose robes that seemed fairly standard in Sunagakure. 'Why can't we just go say hi to the Kazekage, and ask if he'll help us out?'

'Because he's the Kazekage, and we don't need to bother him with something that isn't politically important.' Lee replied, earning a glare from Tenten as they all settled back into the window where they all stared out at one single house.

'Look,' Sakura pointed from the hostel room to the window of the house they had under surveillance. She could see a blurry outline against the light from the indoors. The figure seemed to be walking towards the window. 'I think our chance is soon.'

'_Lucky,_' Lee offered with a smile.

'_Double lucky,_' Tenten replied with a snort.

Sakura regretted telling them about the odd nin and his obsession with _luck _when she had told them some of the stories that cell seven had run into.

'Okay, let's go.'

'I'm tired, Sakura chan,' Lee mentioned. 'It's nearly four in the morning.'

'I know.' She replied. 'I don't know why they waited until so late to make the taffy.' She stood up and walked to the door of the room they'd rented. 'Let's go. By the time we get down there, the taffy will be cool enough to take some.'

'Did anyone bring enough money to leave on the sill for them?'

'I have it covered,' Sakura said softly. 'Shikamaru wanted to fund the whole trip, which is kinda stupid, considering he's got a wife and baby to look after.'

The trio, after checking out with a bleary eyed and confuzzled concierge, slunk out the hotel door and down the street, sticking to the shadows. Prey sighted.

Sakura slunk along the outer wall that rimmed the perimeter of the property the small house sat on. Motioning the other two nin on, they snuck through the gateless entryway and up the garden path

The trio snuck quickly and silently through the sand and overgrown cacti in the yard, carefully avoiding holes that might house spiders or snakes as they made their way to the window sill that held their goal

Triumphantly, Sakura filled a small pouch with the still slightly warm taffy and left a handful of bills under a small pile of coins on the tray where some taffy used to be.

She started to walk away, feeling sand swirling gently around her ankles.

Ino was appeased. She received the taffy with grace and gratitude, then promptly ate it all, without even offering a piece to Shikamaru.

Tenten went back to her usual routine of doing ANBU things, Rock Lee went back to training like a mad fool, trying to open up the gate of insanity, and Sakura went back to the hospital.

Peace reigned for a week, until Tsunade called Sakura into her office.

'Apparently there was a theft of consumable items in Suna about a week ago.' The Hokage offered neutrally. 'Do you know anything about it?'

'No, Hokage Sama,' Sakura answered as innocently as possible.

'Well, if you know who did it, since there was a distinct signature of Leaf chakra around the area, let them know that the victim just wants to give the perpetrator their change. Apparently, the thieves left a good deal of money in payment for the theft, and too much at that.'

'If I find out who did it, I will tell them, Tsunade shisou.' She replied seriously.

On the way back to the hospital, a harried looking Shikamaru walked up to her with a frown on his face. 'She wants more, Sakura san,' he told her. 'I have a mission to go on that's in the opposite direction of Suna,' he said. 'I can't get her any taffy.'

'Well, since I don't have to search for it any longer, I think I can get some in less than two days.' She told him, slowing her pace a little. 'Is that okay?'

He nodded in relief. 'How are we ever going to pay you back for this, Sakura?'

'Make me an auntie, Shik-oh, wait, you already _are,_ aren't you?' she snorted. 'It's fine. Gives me something to do on my days off. Tsunade shisou has me on reduced duties for the next couple months.'

'Why's that?'

'She was worried because I was losing weight.' Sakura made a moue of distaste as she and her best friend's husband walked towards her apartment. What she _wasn't_ going to tell him, or anyone at that, was the reason she had lost so much weight was due to the fact that Sasuke's nearly dead body had been found in the middle of Amegakure and brought back to the Konoha hospital for treatment.

She'd taken care of him until she was almost dead herself.

Then Tsunade had forced her to go on vacation with the strict edict that if she was seen in the hospital for the next two weeks, she'd be taken into custody and put into a cell in the Konoha strict facility until she rested up.

'You seem to have gained it back,' he told her bluntly. 'Your arms have lost the bony, stick like thing you had going for a while.'

'Yeah, and I'll be the one to catch the baby when Ino's time comes,' Sakura laughed at Shikamaru's stricken face. 'It's in there, so it has to come out sometime, Shik,' she offered lamely.

'Haaaah,' he breathed deeply, hands starting to shake as he turned away from Sakura to look towards his home.

'I can block the pain, don't worry, Shik,' she laughed at his sighed relief. 'I'll leave in the morning for taffy. Don't worry, just come home alive for Ino. I'm sure she'll want something else by the time you're back.'

'Yeah, hopefully milk candies this time,' he sighed. 'I had to buy the whole case since it was a special order from the confectionary at the edge of waterfall.'

After leaving Shikamaru to walk himself home, she wondered who she could take with her this time. Tenten was out on mission; Lee was trying to figure out a way to propose to her without her beating him to a bloody pulp and toying with the idea of a short, very highly paid job.

In the end, she ended up going by herself, which she found was better for her. She didn't have to make concessions for any weakness but her own, rested when she utterly needed it and went at a rather remarkable pace. Nobody under the rank of jounin would be able to catch her.

She didn't have any cranky rain nin following her for flirting with her boyfriend this time either, so she made good time and stayed healthy.

Sakura set up camp in the hostel she'd stayed in with Lee and Tenten last time, knowing that nothing was likely to happen until late at night again. She stared up at the ceiling from the lumpy mattress on the floor, wondering what kind of spider that was, the one who made the big web in the corner.

Briefly, she decided that it would be fun to soak up some local culture. She wanted to go out to drink and dance, so she went out in her tan robes and mesh underclothing until she found a stall that had bright dresses that would cling to the top half, that flared out in sheer gossamer layers and hung to the floor. She bought one that had a smooth silhouette in light blue. When she tried it on and whirled, the skirts flared out gracefully, showing her long, leanly toned legs up to the thigh.

Good enough. She paid for it, and got some matching flat slippers in a slightly darker blue and went back to the hostel to put on a lot of makeup and cover her distinctive hair color with a darker one.

By the time the moon was up, Sakura was raven haired, fully made up and looked like she stepped off the pages of Kunoichi Quarterly. She was pleased. She'd even left the breast bindings off, since they would have shown under the plunging neckline and clinging bodice. She was glad the top of the dress was somewhat structured so her less than ample assets didn't bounce out of the top, or even worse, start sagging under it (because everyone knows that what was up when you're sixteen tends to go down a bit by the age of twenty, no matter how small).

She donned her cloak and made her way through the middle of Suna, seeing all sorts of bars and pubs that she wouldn't want to dance and drink in. They all looked somewhat rough. She wasn't in a rough bar mood. She just wanted to dance and drink and be happy.

A likely one opened up near the end of an alley along a small side street near her hostel, and Sakura stepped in, loving the sounds of a sitar and some more modern instruments playing.

She was grabbed by the bouncer and given a strange look.

'What?' she asked, testy.

'Dancers go in the back door,' he told her.

'I'm not a dancer,' she replied. 'I'm a customer. I just want to drink and dance for a while.'

'Pity, you could make a lot of money dancing tonight. The crowd is good, and pretty generous.' Sakura found herself grinning a little bit.

'What would I have to take off?'

He looked shocked at that. 'You're not from Suna, ne?' at her nod, he continued. 'You mistake the purpose of this club. There is no loss of clothing. You just get up and dance with men, and make money. It's…' he named a sum per dance that had her almost blanching.

'Well, why not?' she mused to herself. 'I'm here to soak up local culture.' She nodded and the bouncer led her towards a door along the side of the building.

'The Kazekage would never let an establishment in Suna that catered to something like you thought, lady,' he told her earnestly. 'He'd have a fit, and tear the building down.' He chuckled softly at a joke only he seemed to know and let her in.

She was welcomed by an older woman with graying blond hair and a heavily made up face. The lady led her to a small alcove filled with mirrors, and told her to ready herself, but her dress was fine.

Sakura frowned and said she was fine to go.

The older woman pursed her lips and nodded. 'With those eyes, you're going to have every man in the house falling all over themselves.' She laughed slyly and guided Sakura with a gentle hand on her shoulder to a sheer curtained off area that seemed to lead to a stage.

Sakura wasn't sure she liked the décor of the place, since it was mostly reds and golds, but she couldn't really say. This was the first time she'd ever been in a strip club, let alone a strip club that didn't let women strip.

Though she was kind of glad for the last part.

'I'm Junko,' the older woman told the kunoichi as she handed her a shot glass and filled them with some dark amber liquid. 'And you're our Dark Angel tonight. That's the name you can go by, since no one else has the title currently.'

'Ooookay?' Sakura frowned a little and Junko motioned her to drink the shot.

'For courage,' Junko told her. 'It's not as harsh as it might be in another country, but putting yourself on display for men is never easy. Drink up, Dark Angel, and go on stage.'

She and Junko drank quickly, followed with another shot and Sakura felt herself bolstered enough that she wouldn't die when she went out to dance.

All this in pursuit of taffy.

Ino had better appreciate it.

'Gentlemen,' a booming voice announced from somewhere nearby, but curtained off, since Sakura couldn't see him. 'Please welcome Dark Angel, it's her first night here, so welcome her graciously,'

Sakura stepped out onto a small, circular stage and listened to the music for a few moments, eternally grateful that part of the kunoichi training she'd gotten had to do with impromptu dance. So she could fake it gracefully, she thought to herself with a small smirk.

She almost didn't want to look out past the stage at the sea of faces she knew would have to be there from the din that was audible backstage.

So she danced along with the music, starting off with a soft swaying, then becoming more insistent and demanding of the audience as the music approached climax. She imagined that it was someone she desired that she was dancing for, and acted appropriately, seducing this mystery person that currently had Itachi's face, just because he'd been nice to her and he was pretty.

The song ended slowly, and she finished her dance facedown on the floor in a supplicating position, temporarily raven locks tumbling around her head in a short jumble.

Polite applause sounded from the audience, and she hoped she hadn't made a fool out of herself as she looked up, slightly disoriented as she gained her feet.

'Our Dark Angel, gentlemen,' Junko came out and led her offstage by the shoulder, the knowing look in her eyes made Sakura aware that she'd done just what the older woman had wanted her to do.

'Okay,' Sakura said, relaxing now that she was invisible to the audience. 'Now what am I supposed to do? I just want to dance and drink.'

Junko smiled at her, pressing a glass of light amber liquid into her hands as she led her into a small sitting room decorated in dark wood and white linen.

'Sit then, and calm down,' Junko told her. 'We'll make the audience wait for a while before you go out to dance with some of the men.'

'Alright,' Sakura said quietly, downing the burning liquid in one gulp.

'Good scotch,' Junko told her, 'I'm a fan of it. It takes the edge off, and even if you're dancing with someone you wish you weren't, it makes it easier.'

'So, how long do I have before I get to go out and dance?' she asked.

'Well, when the offers for dances stop coming in,' Junko told her. 'Then the men that want to pay the most get dances, and after that, the ones that don't pay so much.'

'Oh,' Sakura said, drinking another glass of scotch that Junko poured for her.

'It's not the greatest scotch, but the good stuff should be saved for a time you can just sit and appreciate it.'

'If it takes the edge off,' Sakura giggled, 'then I'm fine. I don't care the quality, as long as it's alcohol.'

A small boy walked into the sitting room after a brief knock and bowed to Junko. 'Milady, the offers are coming in. Dark Angel is received well.'

'Are they through coming in yet?'

'No milady, but there's one major offer on the table for a few dances.' He named a sum that made Sakura cough against the scotch.

'Well, that's your first dance of the night,' Junko told her cheerfully. 'That's your cut. Our cut is thirty percent on top of that, so just think how much the offer was.'

_I feel like…_

_This isn't good,_ she thought to herself, with a small quiver in her stomach.

'Well, go on,' Junko shoved gently at her shoulder and Sakura took the cue to get the hell out of the sitting room. 'Mekil will take you to your dance partner,'

Sakura followed Mekil out of the back area and past a small curtain to the audience area. It was slightly lower than the stage area so that everyone could see, and she skittered past it with a shiver down her spine.

She'd been up there. She wasn't too happy about that, but at least she hadn't done anything that would shame either her or Konoha.

Mekil led her to a small booth, the plush bench unoccupied at the moment, but there were a few glasses on the table, empty now though.

'What's this?' she asked, curious.

'He's left the table for a few, Lady Angel,' Mekil informed her. 'His lordship would like to see you waiting when he gets back.'

Sakura shrugged, wondering at the more obscure customs of Sunagakure, and asked Mekil to get her a waiter.

'I c'n take your order,' he told her defensively.

'Oh,' she replied, curious. 'Where I'm from you have to be a certain age to serve alcohol.'

'Not here,' he told her. 'But generally the younger ones don't drink much cuz it don't taste too good.'

'Alright then,' she nodded at him, asking him to get her something strong. 'As strong as you have here, please,' she asked in warm tones.

She felt the air shifting around the person who sat near her, shifting on the rounded bench so that he was back to the wall. She couldn't blame him, she'd not trust the people here to turn her back on, though they all seemed well-dressed and most likely, very well-heeled.

Sakura didn't turn to him until Mekil had returned with her drink, which was most likely more scotch. Straight up. She downed half of it in one go, finally starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. She wasn't going to get drunk tonight, that wasn't her plan. She'd play a little here, make some cash so that Shikamaru didn't feel too obligated to try to pay for the trip and go home with taffy and a fatter wallet.

All around a good plan.

Until the person that was about three quarters of a meter away from her spoke.

**Sabaku no Hime** yeah, hate me all ya want. I haven't updated in ages, and leave you with a cliffie. Who is it? I don't know, but I will in a few when I write the next chapter. This wont be a long story like Call Me, but it's not done yet. There's more chaos to happen. And where's the humor? I don't know. I'm grieving, so my sense of humor sucks at the moment. Sorry peeps. And for all those who have this story on alert, I'm going to try to finish this within the month.


	5. Dance From Hell

**The Search for Saltwater Taffy**

**Sabaku no Hime** well well… who is this at the club? And what's goin on? Why's she there? That's not like her, is it?

Bah, have fun.

Disclaimer…me no own.

**Chapter 5**

**Dance from Hell**

She turned to face the man who'd addressed her. 'What is it?' she asked, not too politely, then nearly bit off her tongue.

'Why aren't you being nice?' he asked her, mimicking hurt. 'After all, I paid pretty dearly for the privilege, didn't I?'

'That's not my fault,' she told him bluntly.

'Actually, yes, it is your fault,' he told her, snorting in sarcasm.

He didn't recognize her, she thought with a deep wash of relief. He didn't recognize her as the thirteen year old genin he'd tried to kill at the chuunin exams.

Holy shit, the luck.

She settled in, a triumphant smirk on her face. 'Well, since you _did_ pay so dearly and all, I guess I can be nice to you,' she purred at him._ Is this why the guard was chuckling? He said the Kazekage would rip the place down if it was a strip joint, and they've been hosting him tonight. Was that it?_

'Is that the only reason you're being nice to me?' he asked, face dark and blank, mouth almost pouting as he drank something that looked more poisonous than not.

'Should there be another, Kazekage sama?' she asked innocently.

'Because I haven't exposed you yet?' he asked quietly, a dark smirk creasing his face. 'I know what you are, and if there were any other Suna nin in the place, you'd be fighting for your life. You're not one of mine.' He told her. 'A kunoichi moves like no other female in the world. Not like a dancer, nor a fighter, but a mix.'

Shit. He _did_ recognize her.

'So then, Gaara sama, are you going to make trouble?' she asked, a slight frown in her voice as she downed the rest of her drink.

'You didn't register when you entered Suna.' He told her. 'You could be incarcerated or even killed, depending on where you're from and what you've done.'

'Heh,' she offered, almost speechless. 'I wasn't doing anything but drinking and dancing,' she told him quickly, recovering. 'I didn't know I had to register when I wasn't on official business.'

'By your accent, you're a Konoha, though I've never seen you before.' He told her.

'Don't worry,' she told him. 'You haven't seen me before.'

'I could still have you killed or jailed,' he told her. 'Vacation or not, you have to register as a shinobi when you came into Suna. Not doing so, and getting away with it if anyone else knows of it could cause… an incident.'

'I'm leaving soon, if that helps?' she blinked heavily made up eyelashes at him

'Not really,' he told her, looking down into his drink that seemed magically empty. He motioned a server and told her to bring the bottle, and make sure it was full.

'Why not?' she asked, refilling her glass as the server brought the full bottle. Man, that was a _big_ bottle, she thought to herself. She wasn't sure if she was in any condition to drink half of that.

'Because, people have _seen_ you.' He told her in that coldly calculating way he had. 'So, how can I do this?' he mused aloud downing another full glass of the poisonous looking liquid that tasted like acid and set fires in her stomach.

'Umm, pretend that my accent is false, and act like I'm one of the dancers. That'd do it,' she told him.

'Yes, it would, wouldn't it?' he smirked at her, 'Except for the fact that the man across the room who's staring at us and trying to read our lips knows you're not from here.'

'Shit,' she mused.

'Yeah, shit is right,' he told her.

'So then what?'

'You weren't supposed to be here.' He mused. 'It wasn't supposed to happen like this,' he looked like he was fighting something in himself as he took a deep gulp from yet another glass.

Sakura, trying to match him drink for drink wasn't faring quite as well. She had a really good buzz going now, when she decided to slow down. 'So who is the other guy, across the room?' she asked, not moving her lips a whole lot.

'Don't worry; he won't make too much trouble.' He assured her. 'He might try to get you put in jail though,'

'Shit, I don't have time for that. I have to go back in a few days.' She said softly.

'Get closer,' he told her, moving towards her. 'This way we can talk without…eavesdroppers,' he said into her ear.

She shifted closer and turned to his ear, which was surprisingly… made of flesh. She didn't know why she'd expected differently, except for the fact that it was Gaara, and he never seemed quite _human_ to her.

'So then what am I going to do?' she whispered at him. 'I don't have time to go to jail, and I don't really want to die.'

'Hn,' he replied.

'Can we cook the records so that I signed in?' she asked softly.

'No chance.' He replied gruffly. 'I should just have you put in jail. What were you doing here, anyway?' he asked.

'Taking some time off work, getting used to Suna,' she told him. 'Apparently there's a mission I'm supposed to go on in Suna, and I'd rather be acquainted with it.'

'Lies.' He told her coldly. 'If you tell me the truth, I'll keep you out of trouble.' He drank yet _more_ and Sakura couldn't decide if he was drunk, had a crazy tolerance or was just trying to kill himself.

'Come with me, Kazekage sama,' she told him, making to rise.

'Not likely, Dark _Angel_,' he offered with a coldly knowing smirk on his face. 'I think you were sent to cause trouble, weren't you?'

Sakura's eyes widened. 'No such thing,' she told him.

'Then what?' he crossed his arms in front of himself after he'd done whispering to her, and took another healthy sip of his drink.

'I can't…'

'Why not?' he asked coldly, filling her glass again.

'I'm…' she trailed off. With a sigh, she decided to tell the Kazekage of her mission. 'I'm here to get something for my pregnant best friend.' She told him, averting her face after she spoke into his ear that was disturbingly…human and disturbingly…vulnerable.

She felt a slight pull from him, and blamed it on all the alcohol. Being attracted to the Kazekage was a big no-no. period.

He laughed softly at her, placing an arm around her shoulders. 'You couldn't lie to me if you tried, kunoichi,' he said into her ear, lips brushing her hair and skin softly. 'I'm glad you told the truth.'

She shivered at the warmth of his breath against her neck. 'So what goes on now, Kazekage sama?' she asked.

'You get what you need for your friend and leave,' he told her quietly.

'No jail, no death?' she widened her eyes, slightly puzzled.

'I'll give you special dispensation this time, but if I ever see you in Suna again, you'd have better registered or I'll throw you in the prison myself.' He growled into her ear.

'Special dispensation, eh?' she mused. 'Thanks Kazekage sama,'

'It's not free,' he told her darkly.

Sakura felt her stomach drop, even though she'd been expecting it. 'What do you need, Kazekage sama?' she asked quietly.

'Be out of Suna by dawn,' he told her coldly, brushing his lips over her ear. 'But in the meantime, we'll drink' he tipped her face towards his own, bringing his face ever so close to her own, and when his lips hovered over hers, he smirked.

Sakura eyed him with distrust. Sure, he'd given her special dispensation this once, but what did he want? Did he want the bargain sealed with a kiss or something?

She tried to back away as she felt his hand tangle in her hair, and raised her own hands to push against his chest to make him back off.

'Soft.' He mused. 'So soft…' his lips caught hers roughly, bruising with force, and she made a small noise in the back of her throat, trying to pull away.

The more she pushed against him, the angrier he seemed to become, and the harder he crushed her against him. Wait… where were her hands? There was no room for them between them, so where?

She finally located her hands grasping the back of Gaara's shirt, beating gently, uselessly against his back. He had one hand in her hair, the other around her waist, holding her tightly.

Sakura gave up trying to fight him, thinking there was something primitive going on in his mind right now, something primeval. The urge to conquer.

So she let him, and found that when she stopped halfheartedly beating him, his lips grew soft on hers and his arms grew less vise like and more welcoming.

She was even starting to enjoy it when he let her go abruptly, backing away and taking a deep draught of liquor. He looked as if nothing had happened, except for the slight reddening of his lips where he'd crushed hers.

'I'll walk you back to where you're staying,' he told her, voice colder than before when he was threatening to jail her.

'There's no need,' she replied, crossing one arm across her waist in a protective gesture, the other reaching for more alcohol.

'Nevertheless,' he started, looking straight at her. She found herself looking away first, angry at what he'd done while she was buzzed.

But she couldn't blame him for it. She'd been the one dancing like she was trying to entice her lover.

'I'll go get my robes then,' she offered in defeat.

'Hmph.' He nodded, and sat back against the seat.

Sakura rushed off to the curtained off back room, getting her bearings quickly and grabbing her tan robes.

'The Kazekage likes you,' Junko offered from by her side.

'I'm not too sure of that.' Sakura replied with a wry grin.

'He's sort of scary, and he always comes for my scotch,' Junko said. 'Though he usually sits in the backroom,'

'The linen one?'

'The very same.' Junko replied distractedly. 'I don't know why he was in the audience tonight; he doesn't like being around that many people. I wonder if he was using it as a test to control his tanuki demon?'

'Oh, well then,' Sakura replied. That's why he was in this club thing that was but wasn't a strip club.

'He comes at least once a month for the scotch my brother makes. We'll usually sit and talk for a while before he goes home,' Junko told her. 'He's never even looked at my girls before,'

Hrn? That was odd. Was he gay? But he couldn't be, could he?

How did he learn of your scotch?' Sakura asked Junko, trying to figure out the whole situation. The whole idea of the Kazekage being in a place like this one was almost absurd.

'His brother brought him here one day, likely in hopes of getting him married off,' Junko said.

'To the dancers?'

'Yes,' Junko stared at her. 'This isn't what you think it is. This is a place where men and ladies come to relax and meet each other. It's where all the single girls in Suna end up if they want to marry and don't get a proposal soon enough to suit their tastes.'

'And the men out there all have getting married on their minds…' she trailed off. 'Well, most of them. The Kazekage isn't likely to get married ever, as much a pity as it is…'

Sakura cut her off with a quick 'I have to go now,' and bolted out the back door. She could just _feel_ that he was coming to the back to see what the problem was. Coming to see why she was taking so long.

'Kazekage sama,' was the last thing she heard as she rushed out the door, throwing her tan robes on over the billowy dress.

Shit. Shit. _Shit_. She thought to herself angrily. Why did she have to go out and absorb local culture on the same night as Gaara?

She raced through the streets, certain he was going to give chase, and tried to erase any and all signature of her chakra.

Let him find me now,' she thought with a brief chuckle as she sprinted over rooftops and leapt across alleyways.

Moments later, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she crashed into her room, watching dimly as it spun around her muddled head. She was drunk. She knew it. She also realized that she might have caused an intervillage incident by running off on the Kazekage.

But she didn't care.

She just sat there, sobering up until she saw a figure in the window of the taffy house.

She checked out, and crept towards the house, keeping in the shadows again, always silent.

The person slammed a cookie sheet down on the window sill that Sakura sat below, and she prayed that the person didn't see her footsteps in the sand on the way to the house.

She could hear distinctly low pitched grumblings coming from the house, and heard the sound of things being mixed and stretched and boiled down, while the grumbling went on the whole time.

She heard sort of stomping footsteps seeming to retreat from the kitchen and yanked out a wad of money. Since he was making another batch, she decided to take the whole thing.

She left enough money to pay for the tray and the taffy half a dozen times over, and then ran as if her life depended on it.

Things went well after that for a few months, until Ino approached the end of her pregnancy. Taffycell, as they called themselves in mock seriousness was only sent out once or twice until the last few weeks of Ino's carry.

Everyone seemed busy that day, aside from Hinata's baby sister, Hanabi when the call came for more taffy.

It had become such a village wide problem that Tsunade actually gave the Taffycell ranked missions, although finding cravable items was a max B rank mission.

So then Hyuuga Hanabi became a temporary member of Taffycell, the only other one going on the mission being Sakura. She was still pissed at Tsunade for the light duty, though glad she could do something useful with it.

'Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hanabi, your mission is to go get Ino more taffy so she doesn't whine Shikamaru and I to death,' Tsunade said loudly, sipping her sake and raking her hand through her hair in a frustrated gesture as she took in the two small nin before her.

'I'm nothing too special,' Hanabi said, frowning.

'Not terribly, but you're free right now,' Tsunade didn't bother pulling her punch. Hanabi had a bit of an ego problem that Hisashi fed. She wouldn't mind getting the younger Hyuuga married off so that she'd become a little more grounded. That way maybe she'd survive all the way to jounin rank. 'And as a genin, a C rank mission will look really good on your sheet,'

'C rank?' Hanabi frowned. 'I thought these were B rank missions,'

'Not right now,' Sakura sighed, sitting down to avoid Hanabi's waving hand. 'Suna is an ally, therefore it's not really dangerous.'

'Who sells you the taffy, anyway?' Tsunade asked and waved away Hanabi's protests that a B rank would look much nicer on her in the bingo book.

'Hrn,' Sakura shifted. 'That's a secret.'

'Are you still stealing it?'

'Well, they're hostile to non Suna nin,' she shrugged, blushing deeply. She wasn't pleased that she was stealing at all, let alone the fact that she'd had to tell Tsunade all about it when the Kazekage came unofficially to report an unregistered ninja visiting Suna and showing up in one of Suna's most reputable matchmaker's, dancing. Tsunade had related all the details that Gaara had given her, and congratulated her on at least wearing lots of makeup and covering her hair color.

'The Kazekage would help,' Tsunade said, 'I know it. All I have to do is mention the whining or headaches and he'd help. He understands more than he likes to let on or show,' Tsunade grinned, 'He's also more sensitive and caring than he likes to let on,'

Sakura grunted, disbelieving, and Hanabi had stars in her eyes. The Kazekage. She wanted to make a really good impression, and then maybe he'd get her out of the damn Hyuuga compound so she wouldn't have to train so hard.

'Are you up for one last trip to Suna for taffy?' Tsunade asked.

'I'm kind of Ino's taffy champion, aren't I there?' Sakura asked not bothering to hide the heavy sarcasm that laced her tone.

**Sabaku no Hime** well that's it for this one. We're approaching the end of Ino's pregnancy, so let's see how Hanabi fares with Sakura in Suna, shall we? I'm writing this ahead of time, in case you're wondering, just because I can, and I figured it would be good to get this done while I have the motivation for it.


	6. The Last Batch of Taffy

**The Search for Saltwater Taffy**

**Sabaku no Hime.** Thank you Tomboy14, who has reviewed every chapter. I think it's going in a weird direction now, but I hope it's alright. I don't own it, neither the basis of the tale, nor Naruto.

**6 ****The Last Batch of Taffy**

Sakura and Hanabi made good time, though not quite the time she'd have made if Taffycell in it's entirety was with her, though she'd gladly go without Tenten's nail picking and Lee's 'Yosh!' all the time.

They arrived in Suna late at night, and registered, under suspicion of the guards. The damn guards wouldn't let them in. why not?

Because, they were told, the Kazekage _himself_ wished to see the papers of all nin from Konoha, due to a few petty thefts a few months ago.

'Why's that?' Sakura asked, being as innocent as possible.

'There was a chakra signature that Kazekage sama recognized from Konoha when he was younger.' One of the guards replied, motioning them to sit down in the guard shack on the semi comfortable seats.

Sakura felt pole axed. If her face showed what she was feeling, Hanabi was probably wondering why she wasn't breathing, and likely turning a funky blue or green shade. He recognized the chakra signature?

_No way._

He'd been insane that time. There was no way in hell he could recognize her.

Then her worries were over as the Kazekage burst into the guard tower, a cranky frown on his face.

'Why are you coming in so late?' he asked brusquely, not looking at either of them yet. 'I have a lot of paperwork that needs doing.'

'We have papers,' Hanabi told him, flashing a pearly smile and the mission scroll in front of him. He just grabbed the scroll and frowned at her.

'Haruno Sakura and one Hyuuga Hanabi, then,' he mused. 'Here for… _shopping_?' he glared at the pair in disbelief, disgust scrunching his face up. 'What the hell do you think you're doing, coming to the gates at two in the morning for a shopping trip?' he growled fiercely.

'Well, we timed it badly,' Sakura defended. 'We're sorry that you inconvenienced yourself, the guards told us about it.' She told him. 'But it's not _our_ fault you inconvenienced yourself, now is it?' she growled.

He blinked at her, eyes snapping to her face, and she felt herself cursing inwardly.

'Well, yes, actually, it is,' he replied. 'Now, since there's no hotels open at this time of night, where do you plan on staying?'

'We were just going to train for a few hours and find somewhere in the morning,' Hanabi offered innocently.

'Very well then,' he conceded. 'I do know of a hostel that takes roomers this late, if you wish,'

Hanabi's eyes lit up and she started to do the little jumping-with-excitement thing. Sakura felt herself glaring at the poor Hyuuga girl and nodded curtly at the Kazekage.

Sakura was led to a very familiar hostel, and started to swear internally, hoping it was a different concierge than the last two times. He'd recognize her pink hair. Sometimes, having distinctive hair really sucked.

She really hoped that Gaara would drop them at the door and go home.

No such luck.

He walked them into the reception area, and right up to the concierge that barely masked his surprise at seeing her there in the company of the Kazekage.

She felt his considering glance as she asked for two rooms for the night.

'Aren't you planning on shopping for a while?' Gaara asked her quietly, eyes piercing, and she had the strangest thought that he _knew_.

'We only have a few days off. We're buying things for my best friend's daughter,' she blurted out happily, nearly wanting to choke herself when she realized what she'd said.

He said goodnight and walked off as the pair made their way towards their rooms.

'Do you know him?' Hanabi asked quietly as they walked up stairs to the third floor.

'Sort of. It's weird and complicated,' she returned.

'Oh-ho!' Hanabi crowed. 'I have something to tell Neji neesan when we get home,'

'Whatever,' Sakura replied coldly; wondering if this was how Sasuke had used to feel when she tried to get his attention.

'Goodnight then,' Hanabi said calmly and retired to her room.

'I'm not quite ready to go yet,' Sakura said, wondering what she was going to do with all sorts of time and insomnia. Gasping in surprise as a black cloaked figure entered the room through her window seemed a pretty good thing to do.

'What are we doing in Suna?' Itachi asked, chuckling a little.

'Are you off vacation yet?' she inched her way away from him.

'No,' he replied calmly. 'I'm taking a year off to decide if I want to take Leader's place since he's getting bored with running the Akatsuki.'

'Oh,' Sakura replied, backing over to the bed, where she promptly sat down.

'So what are you doing in Suna? I know bloody well it isn't a shopping trip.'

'You did cause shit when you told us where to get taffy.' Sakura complained at him. 'Ino is a taffy fiend.'

'It's not my fault; I just told you where to get it. I didn't tell you it'd be easy.' He chided.

'I didn't think it would make something like a small intervillage dispute,' she groused. 'And this is the third time I've had to do this,'

Itachi remained silent for a few minutes, staring out the window at the house he'd directed the girl to.

_Salvation_, he mused. Was it salvation or damnation that lay there for him? He'd have to find out at some point.

'What do you mean?' Sakura asked him, certain he wasn't aware that he'd been speaking out loud.

'It wasn't entirely altruistic,' he told her.

'I think I figured that one out already, Itachi san,' she told him quietly.

'I'm coming with you to get the taffy,' he told her quietly.

She felt a chill snake down her spine. 'Why?' she asked. 'Are you going to do something really bad to it, or what?'

'I'm off, Sakura.' He reminded her. 'I'm debating how bored I grow in the pursuit of power. It isn't what I thought it was going to be,'

'Things never are,' she told him, patting the bed next to her.

'You know, that's pretty stupid,' he told her, glancing pointedly at the space next to her. Sakura blushed; inviting an enemy to sit close by wasn't very smart of her. 'If I wasn't on vacation, we'd be fighting, and trying to kill each other.' He sat down next to her, and she felt the warmth of his body close to hers.

It was comfortable.

She sighed. 'I hope this is the last time,' she grumbled, lying back, legs dangling off the edge of the bed.

Itachi sighed, laying down as well, staring at the ceiling. 'Are you aware of the rather large spider living in the corner of this room?' he asked quietly. 'It looks pretty fat and well fed to me,'

'I call him Ralph,' she told him, earning herself a wide-eyed look. 'Oh, god Itachi, it's a joke,'

He snorted. 'The child in the next room. Did you bring her just to babysit her? Or is there a reason?' he asked.

'I won't get into so much trouble if I have someone else with me. I learned my lesson that time with you,' she told him. 'I tend to get myself into sticky situations when I'm alone, just because I get bored,'

'I understand.' He smirked. 'The taffy will be set on the sill soon,' he told her. 'We should go.'

'You sound like you've been keeping an eye on the place?' Sakura asked.

'Hrm,' he replied noncommittally, and walked out of the room with a soft swish of his Akatsuki robes.

'Hanabi,' Sakura called through the thin door. 'Come on, it's time,'

Hanabi opened the door like she'd been waiting in the frame. 'Okay, let's go… why's there an Akatsuki with us?' she yanked out a kunai and dropped into a fighting stance, eyes wide and face set. She radiated something, but Sakura knew for a fact that Hanabi hadn't taken a life yet, nor was it the time now.

'It's okay,' Sakura told her 'He's on… vacation.'

'That's lame,' Hanabi groused. 'I want to kill an Akatsuki,'

Itachi covered his mouth with his sleeve, attempting to stifle his laughter. 'You couldn't go up against me if you tried,' he told her.

'Yes I can,' Hanabi exclaimed loudly.

'Shut up—there are people sleeping,' Sakura whispered. 'Now let's go, and you can't kill an Akatsuki, Hanabi. If Sasuke and Naruto together could hardly damage only one, then there's no chance you'd ever touch one.'

'Thanks,' Itachi mumbled something.

'Gee, I feel talented,' Hanabi complained as they went down the stairs and checked out of the hostel.

Sakura sighed and paid their bill, walking out the door and towards the house where the treasure of taffy lay in wait.

They didn't bother sticking to the shadows, all the lights were off in the house, but moonlight glinted off aluminum and smooth taffy candy that sat cooling.

Perfect, Sakura thought to herself as she walked up to the sill, followed by Itachi and Hanabi.

She ignored the sand swirling around her ankles as she yanked out a kunai to cut off a chunk of taffy.

Just as she was about to place it in the wax paper Hanabi held out to her, a wave of sand came cascading up to her knees, holding her stuck. She squeaked, looking to Hanabi and Itachi, seeing them both caught in a similar manner, though Itachi looked less than panicked about it.

'What the hell?' she cursed softly, watching as a light went on in the kitchen and the sand moved up to her waist. 'Shit, shit, shit!' she cursed.

'I thought these people didn't like leaf shinobi?' Hanabi queried. 'So we're in shit now, eh?'

'I'd say so,' Itachi replied with a satisfied smirk. He'd gotten what he wanted.

The outside light came on, and a trio of Suna nin came out of the house slowly. Sakura gasped in horror as she recognized the face paint of Kankuro and the quadruple pigtails of Temari. That meant that the rather short, slender figure behind them, still in shadow was…

Yep.

He came forward with a dark grin on his face, eyeing the trio of culprits with something like predatory bloodlust, and something akin to rage flashing in the pupilless depth of his eyes.

'Oh ho,' Kankuro chuckled. 'So what's this? Looks like some taffy thieves to me, how about you, Temari, Gaara?'

Sakura remained silent as Temari looked at Itachi askance. 'It's _you_' she said, an angry growl.

'It's me,' he replied, brushing his hair back from his face.

'I was hoping never to see you again, you bastard,' she growled.

'Really,' he mused aloud. 'That's just too bad, isn't it?'

Hanabi stood, frozen, face rigid with fear. 'We stole from the Kazekage?' she squeaked.

'Hanabi,' Sakura chided. 'Be silent unless you have something constructive to add,' she hated herself for telling the girl to shut up, but once Hanabi got going, she'd go for hours.

'So, the Dark Angel returns to Suna?' he growled at her.

Sakura had the good grace to blush at that one. She looked away, and almost laughed since Hanabi and Kankuro were staring at the other four like they'd become monsters.

'Stop it,' Itachi's voice came softly. 'I didn't want to hurt you then, nor do I now,'

'It doesn't matter,' Temari offered harshly. 'Let him go, Gaara kun. I want him out of Suna, _now_.'

'So I'm Kankuro, and you're Hanabi, I assume?' Sakura turned to face the two again, realizing that Kankuro was introducing himself to Hanabi like they hadn't been caught stealing from Suna citizens.

'Yes,' she offered meekly.

'Welcome to Suna,' he offered, laughing.

'So are you going to let us go?' Sakura asked.

'This is what your pregnant best friend wants?' Gaara asked quietly.

'Yes.' She replied.

'So the whole time, even when you ran off on me, all the times taffy was stolen, it was you?' he asked, frowning as he played with his fingers, not looking at her.

'All the times?' Sakura screeched. 'This is the third time in six months,' she defended.

'No,' Itachi offered. 'The rest of the time it was me.'

'You manipulative bastard,' Temari yelled at him.

'And what exactly do I gain?' he asked disinterestedly.

'I don't know yet, but I know that you've got ten plans and counter plans going right now, so stop acting like you're not up to something,' she growled. 'Let him go, Gaara,' she ordered, furious.

Gaara smirked over at Temari and did as she told him, not that he was afraid of her, but he wanted to see how things played out.

Sakura wasn't sure where Temari and Itachi had met before, but they'd apparently taken an instant dislike to one another. She blinked in confusion as Gaara let the sand drop from her body like it had never been there.

'So you're going to let us get away with it?' she asked sweetly. 'My best friend, who's due in less than a week would love some taffy.'

'You left too much money,' he told her calmly.

'It's your baking habit, Gaara, you were so angry.' Temari said. '"They stole what wasn't theirs, I'll make whoever it is pay,"' she quoted in a harsh voice, obviously a bad immitation of Gaara.

'Hn,' he replied.

'Go, Itachi,' Temari pushed at him. 'I don't want to look at you anymore.' She growled.

'Hyuuga Hanabi, you will take the taffy to Konohagakure under supervision of Kankuro san,' he said coldly.

She nodded, eyes wide, glad he wasn't going to put her in jail or anything like that.

'Temari san,' he trailed off, watching as she attacked Itachi mercilessly, watching as he dodged effortlessly.

'They can work it out themselves,' Gaara frowned, face wrinkling a little. 'I should jail you all,'

'You can't,' Sakura gasped. 'Ino's due in less than a week,' she went on. 'I have to be there. I'm her medic!'

Gaara just glared at her.

'It's important,' Sakura begged. 'She's having twins and they're sitting funny,' she told him. 'I have to be there to make sure they all live through the birthing,'

'What of Hokage sama?' Gaara asked.

'Going to a birth?' Sakura chuckled. 'All the blood would do her in,'

'Very well. You can return to Konoha for the birthing,' he nodded to himself. 'Then you will return here for sentencing.'

'Shit,' she mused aloud.

'Be glad I'm not jailing your whole team,' he growled at her.

'What team? Itachi just jumped into the hostel room to visit and Hanabi is still a genin,' she told him. 'There is no team, it's a couple people trying to make a friend happy.'

'You're still a thief.' He told her sternly. 'I will join you in Konoha. I believe that the Hokage will give me what I ask for to avoid an incident, right, _Dark Angel_?' he asked coldly.

'I left more than enough money to cover the expenses,' she growled, backing away. She couldn't leave poor Hanabi by herself, but the girl was just standing there, _giggling_ with Kankuro.

He must have noticed her eyeing Hanabi, since he started talking again. 'You can't leave her here. She'd end up taking your punishment in jail time,' he smirked at her a little, triumph making him cheery.

'So I get to deliver Ino's kids, then do my time here?' she asked.

'In a manner of speaking, yes,' he nodded as she sat down in the sand, and folded her legs under her.

'So, do I get to train or help at the hospital while I'm doing my time?' she asked quietly.

'Yes,' he replied. 'You'll even get three meals a day, or more if you're hungry.'

She couldn't help but frown up at him as he smirked down at her.

'Great,' she replied. 'Thanks so much. So you won't starve me to death.'

'I could have you killed,' he told her, chewing on one finger as if he was contemplating it. 'Just because you came in unregistered last time, you could be killed. Now adding thievery on top of that, well, you might be in a lot of trouble,' he told her.

Sakura took a shaky breath. 'But you already said you wouldn't have me killed.'

'That's right. I have no intention on killing you,' he told her, voice cheerful for him.

Sakura winced at the tone of his voice. Gaara being cheery had to mean someone was going to get maimed or damaged… or something very, very bad was going to happen.

**Sabaku no Hime** what's this? Gaara's being a hard ass? Itachi and Temari have a history? I was unaware of that until it came out. I've written a few chappies ahead, and it confuses me. Anywho, tell me whatcha think. Ideas and constructive criticism are always welcomed.

the bluey purple button is

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	7. Just Doing What I'm Paid To

**The Search for Saltwater Taffy**

**Sabaku no Hime**

**Chapter 7**

**Just Doing What I'm Paid To...**

She ignored Gaara the whole trip back to Konoha, just because she was angry at him. She was friendly with Kankuro, who'd strangely taken a liking to Hanabi.

She would have never imagined it, but she seemed to like him right back. The Kazekage scared poor Hanabi half out of her wits, and with Sakura ignoring him, the only one who he could talk to was Kankuro.

Far too often, she felt the weight of his stare, but she steadily ignored it.

The second day of the trip dawned, and Sakura yawned while drinking her tea, absently swatting at some sort of bloodthirsty bug that bit her. She frowned at the splatter of blood across her arm, and scraped at it with her sleeve.

'Go wash it off,' Gaara told her angrily.

She ignored him some more.

'I said to go wash it off,' he told her even more angrily.

She smirked into her tea and drank more.

'I still have the Shukaku in me,' he told her conversationally. 'Do you want to know what he does when he smells blood?'

Sakura bolted to her feet, stumbling away towards the small river nearby like the hounds of hell were after her.

Well, the tanuki from hell.

She washed off the blood and worried her sleeve. That time was going to start soon. What was going to happen if the demon smelled blood from _there_?

Oh well, pretty soon she'd be too _in jail_ for him to ever bother her again.

She wasn't terribly happy with that fate, but if it eased relations and made up for her thievery, she'd deal with it. At least she'd get to practice her medicine.

She walked back to the clearing, hoping there were no traces of blood on her and grabbed her pack. Hanabi and Kankuro were nowhere in sight, so she violated her ignore Gaara rule and looked at him questioningly.

'They left early this morning. Kankuro wants to get the taffy to Konoha as quickly as possible.' He told her. 'Hanabi didn't seem like she'd mind some time with Kankuro to herself,'

Sakura snorted, yeah, right. More like she wanted a few minutes to see if the liking of each other was more than just instant attraction.

Meh, what did it matter to her anyway? She could travel in silence quite cheerfully.

She shouldered her pack and started moving, Gaara following seconds later with a slight grunt. She figured that just to be cruel, she might just do the chakra fuelled run.

With a sadistic smirk, she did just that, although she was too tired to keep it up for very long, considering how badly she'd slept for the past several nights. She was pretty worn out, she had to admit it.

She really wished she wasn't though. When, late in the morning, she had to slow it down, Gaara didn't even give her a look of contempt. He just matched her pace.

Sakura felt herself glaring at him. He didn't even look winded. What the hell was wrong with him? An angry growl escaped her throat as she stewed over what was going on. He was going to put her in jail for trying to make her best friend happy, glossing over the fact that she'd stolen. Then he had the audacity to not get tired when she was utterly exhausted and about to drop off her feet. She could make the Suna trip in two or three days only when she'd had adequate rest.

Not only did he not look tired, but he looked fresh, like he'd just had a good sleep and a nice shower. She felt grimy and sweaty, and on top of that, she was just pissed at him.

'I hate you,' she growled at him, barely aware of the words escaping her mouth. Then she recoiled in horror as he looked over at her, utter malice in his eyes.

'You'll more than hate me by the time you've finished up in Suna,' he told her menacingly as he leapt for another tree branch.

Sakura went on as long as she could in the silence, it was using up a lot of her energy to be as angry with him as she was. It was exhausting to be so upset, really, and she knew intimately how much of a weakness strong feelings could be on a mission.

She wasn't surprised when she ran out of energy, dropping from the branches to land on the soft grass with a slight thud. All she could hear was her own ragged breathing and the gentle swish of clothing as Gaara landed beside her.

'What is it?' he asked emotionlessly.

'I'm…' she didn't want to admit it to him. Not even to herself.

'You're exhausted.' He finished for her.

She sighed in defeat and nodded, returning to silence.

'Why didn't you mention it earlier?' he chided her as he tried to help her to her feet. 'When you still had the energy to at least stand.'

Sakura glared at him as her legs gave out under her and she sunk back to the ground. She growled as he set his things down next to her and helped her remove her pack. His mouth was pressed tight in what looked like annoyance, and she growled again. 'Stop touching me,' she rasped out.

He just glanced at her face, then proceeded to ignore her demand, as he lay out her bedroll and put her on it.

'I said stop touching me,' she growled at him, raising a hand to weakly swat at him.

'Nice move,' he chuckled at her. 'I'm the only one out here to protect you if any missing nin happen by, or nin from another village that's hostile.'

She frowned, knowing that he was right. That dind't make it any easier to accept that he was calmly setting up a small campsite around her prone form.

'When was the last time you slept?' he asked roughly.

'Hrm, and _you're_ asking me that?' she shot back.

He snorted a little and asked again, this time more insistently. 'A few days ago,' she replied honestly. 'I've had a hard time sleeping. Theft doesn't sit well on me, and now being around you, I don't sleep well.'

'You will,' he told her bluntly.

Sakura blanched for a second. 'You'll pass out in an hour or two,' he told her. 'And sleep like you were comatose.'

She frowned, knowing he was right. 'Do you ever sleep now?' she asked.

'Yes, I do. Yes I can.' He told her quietly. 'The Akatsuki damaged Shukaku when they tried to take him. He's weaker now, so I can sleep.'

She nodded.

'Also, he sometimes can talk to me, though rarely now.' He told her. 'He's pretty sick, although he can be funny.'

She shifted, angry with her own weakness. Not only did her body give out on her, but her vow to ignore Gaara was a thing of the past. She was disgusted with herself.

Sakura allowed her eyes to close as the young Kazekage moved around the campsite.

She woke up feeling warm and cozy, recognizing the scent of her own sheets. So it had been a dream? She wasn't going to go to prison in Suna. Good.

She got out of bed, standing on surprisingly shaky legs and walked to her small washroom. After a quick shower, she went to the kitchen, ravenous.

Her legs were still shaky by the time she put on water for ramen and tea, so she went to sit in the small living room. She walked over to the back of her couch and flopped over onto the cushions… that had something bony and…nice smelling in them.

She flipped off the couch instead of settling her weight, backing into a fighting stance as the figure underneath the blankets lowered them, bringing up a head full of mussed up red hair and confused looking aqua eyes without pupils.

Her legs, naturally, chose that most opportune time to give out on her, so she crashed to the floor in an undignified heap of cotton nightshirt and pink hair.

She cursed and looked up at the person that stretched lazily on her couch, popping his shoulders, a few vertebrae and his neck. He then looked over at her and cocked his head. 'What are you doing up?' he asked innocently.

'What are you doing _in my apartment_?' she screeched at him. 'Who said you could stay here? When and _how_ did we get here?' she fired off questions and started as the kettle started to go off.

She ran for the kitchen, guessing she'd have to make tea and ramen for two now. She growled, slamming two mugs down onto the counter, putting tea leaves in mesh balls and pouring water over them.

'How do you—' she cut off her loud question when she found him at the kitchen door. 'Take your tea?' she finished in a more subdued tone.

'Plain,' he told her, grabbing some bowls from her cupboards.

'So how long have we been in Konoha? Is Ino still okay? How did we get here?' she asked again.

'Two days, she's late and I carried you,' he replied, pulling down a couple packets of noodles. 'She's likely holding until she knows you're going to be there,' he told her with no small amount of humor.

'Just like her. She won't have anyone else deliver her kids. It's either me or no one is what she said,' Sakura found herself chuckling with the young man who was going to be her jailer in a few days.

'So as soon as we're done here, we'll go see Ino if you're up to it,' he told her.

'You have to stay away from the birthing room,' she told him. 'I don't want Shukaku going all nucking futs and rampaging all over the place.'

'It's not any blood that drives Shukaku crazy,' he told her. 'It's weird. He likes blood, but the blood of certain people makes him crazy.'

'Oh-ho,' Sakura replied, turning away to fish noodles out of the broth and toss on a few pieces of chicken and spicy mushrooms. 'Here,' she told him. 'Go, sit,'

'Tsunade san wanted to see you as well, after the delivery,' Gaara told her. 'I've already spoken to her, and she's not too happy about losing her student.'

Sakura frowned, eating noodles. When her mouth wasn't full she groused at him. 'Well, I'm not crazy about going to prison, but if it makes things okay, then I'll deal.'

'Who said anything about prison?' he asked, drinking his tea. 'How's your chakra?' he asked her again.

'Better now. I could handle a full day of pain blocking,' she told him with a smirk.

'They're going to work you hard at the hospital in Suna,' he told her. 'But let's go. Ino's babies are likely going to walk out of her if she doesn't go into labor soon.'

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

None of you really need the deets about a delivery, do you? It's bloody and there's lots of screaming involved I've been told. Having none of my own, I can't say for sure.

Sakura wiped the blood off her hands onto a towel, smirking in triumph. Two kids. One boy, one girl, for Shikamaru and Ino, she was so happy for them. The couple sat, one child in each parents arms. Ino lay on the cot, exhausted, but elated. She'd counted the baby toes and fingers, making sure the requisite amount were there.

She decided it was likely best to leave the pair for a while to get to know their babies before she started piling on instructions. Ino had bled a lot, and was bleeding inside still a little. Sakura hadn't been able to fix the whole thing, but the worst of it was alright. If she'd had no one around with chakra, she'd have likely bled to death.

But the remainder of the wounds Ino had internally would heal within a week or so. She intended to keep the trio in the hospital until at least then, and after she had a shower, she'd tell Tsunade shisou so. She'd tell her sensei not to let Ino out of the hospital for at least a week under threat of making Tsunade get taffy next time Ino was pregnant.

That would scare her into obedience.

Not like Tsunade would need her instruction though. She'd just look at Ino and know.

Sakura walked out of the shower, cursing the monthly and all the pain in the ass that came with it. Why? What was the point? She mused to herself.

She left the hospital, sauntering in the direction of the Hokage tower, savoring her last few moments of freedom for god knew how long. She could see the familiar structure looming in the distance and she frowned, nostalgia washing over her.

'Haruno,' came the cold voice behind her.

'Hyuuga san,' she smirked as she looked over her shoulder at Neji.

'I hear there was trouble in Suna?' he asked her quietly, staring at the Hokage tower with her.

'Yeah, I'm going to do some time over there, to smooth over relations. I didn't know it was the Kazekage himself we were taking taffy from.' She said.

'It's not like you to get caught,' he told her.

'I think it was a set up,' she mused, recalling the not so freaked out face of Itachi.

'So when do you go?' he asked, putting his arm around her in a friendly manner. She'd gotten to be very close with Neji after Naruto and Sasuke had left Konoha, and they'd stayed close since then.

'_Now,_' came the enraged hiss from behind them, and Sakura could feel sand snaking over her ankles, restless, agitated.

'Uuh,' she shrugged at Neji, giving him a hug. 'I'll see ya in a few years I guess.' She told him. 'You'd better be married by then, and have a half dozen kids,' she teased.

'I'll always wait for you and you alone,' he mussed up her hair and hugged her back. Sakura could almost feel the malice pouring off Gaara in waves when she and Neji hugged.

But when Neji had the audacity to kiss her on the forehead, the sand gripped him by the waist and deposited him ten feet away.

'I'll take that as a cue to leave, then,' he laughed. 'See you soon, Sakura. Suna prison allows visitors.'

'Not where she's going,' Gaara hissed at the other man, dragging her close to him, then behind him.

What the hell? 'I thought you said…' she shut up, noticing that he wasn't just pissed, he was literally shaking in his sandals angry. He was so enraged, he was literally sweating and turning a funky shade of red.

'Gaara san,' she said, touching his back. 'Relax Kazekage sama,' she told him, trying to stroke the back of his hair down.

He didn't calm down, he turned to her, eyes almost inhuman, and she shrank back against a suddenly materialized wall of sand. 'You need to stop that,' he hissed at her, growling deep in his chest.

'Stop wha?' oh shit. He wasn't serious, was he? 'I can't really stop it, it just kind of, happens now and again.' She told him.

'It's not alright. It has to stop.' He told her, dragging her along to the Hokage tower, hand clenching hers a bit too hard, muscles twitching now and again. Sakura felt herself shivering, worried that he was just going to rip her apart.

That hadn't been the Gaara she knew.

'Hokage sama,' she ran up the path to the tower, through the doors and burst into Tsunade's office without knocking.

'You're the only one aside from Shizune I let do that,' she told the younger nin with a small smirk and a sip of sake.

So what now?' she asked the Hokage flatly.

'You have to go back to Suna for sentencing,' she said. 'I can't protect you at all. Gaara san has…threatened to war on Konoha if you aren't turned over to Suna.'

And that meant that the lives of shinobi that would be lost were too important. She couldn't blame Tsunade. If it was her versus the lives of two people, she'd choose the lives of more to save as well.

The Kazekage burst through the door with a swirl of sand and a smirk.

'So, yeah,' Sakura grunted. 'I'm a prisoner of Sunagakure now, eh?'

He just grunted.

'Thanks,' she told him angrily. 'Can I at least say goodbye to my friends?'

'No,' he told her. 'You will come to Suna with me now.'

'Ass,' she said flatly.

'I wouldn't be calling the one who had my sentencing in his hands an ass if I were you,' Tsunade warned Sakura.

'Can you make her stop bleeding, Tsunade?' he asked abruptly.

Tsunade glanced at him in startlement. 'Shukaku likes the scent of her blood.' He said, not bothering to go into detail.

Tsunade raised a brow at him and he nodded. She took another sip of sake and nodded. 'I can make it stop, but just this once. I'd have to see her each time to keep it stopped.'

'Can't she do it herself?' Gaara asked, frowning.

'No.' Tsunade replied. Gaara frowned some more.

'I wasn't really…expecting Shukaku to like the scent of her blood so much,' he said offhandedly.

'So that means he's going to rip me apart next time?' Sakura screeched.

Neither decided to let her in on the little secret they held. 'Not quite,' Gaara replied calmly, hands fisted and shaking. 'Make it stop now, though,' he almost begged Tsunade.

'Alright. Go outside.' She told him, and put her hands on Sakura's shoulders. She felt the familiar flux of Tsunade's chakra and relaxed.

'Is he going to kill me?' she asked quietly. 'He said he wouldn't, but he looked like he wanted to.'

'He won't, although it would be a very good idea to stay well clear of him when that happens,' Tsunade warned. 'He won't kill you, but you might not like what happens.'

'Oh shit,' Sakura paled.

'Oh shit is right,' Tsunade agreed with a nod. 'Go get rid of your hygiene product and shower before you leave.'

'Yep. I'm going to scrub with a mesh scrubbie pad.' She agreed, all but running out the Hokage's tower.

'Maybe not a scrubbie, though,' she said to herself, wondering what Gaara's reaction would be if she was bleeding all over.

Then he probably _would_ rip her to shreds.

While she was showering, she toyed with the idea of just running away. Maybe join a band of missing-nin or something fun like that.

Then she realized that Gaara might make good on his threat if she didn't go with him. So there was the end of a great plan.

She got out of the shower and went for her bedroom to get clothing, only to find good old Gaara sorting through her wardrobe, tossing things on the bed.

'What the hell are you doing?' she asked angrily, tugging the towel wrapped around her higher up.

'Most of this stuff is useless in Suna,' he told her. 'You will need more clothing. And your things. The trinkets will be moved later. The furniture can stay here.'

'And why is this?' she glared at him. 'Doesn't suna prison have a uniform or something? I know the hospital does.'

'Who said anything about you going to prison?' he asked her, throwing a short skirt onto the floor. 'This is useless. You'll get a sunburn or frostbite.'

'I'm going to prison… aren't I?' she asked, confused.

She made a funny sound when he got to her underwear drawer. He turned to look at her, then in the drawer. A smirk crossed his face as he pulled out a cotton pair of boyshorts. 'This is fine,' he tossed it on the bed, then pulled out a funky leopard patterned bra and panty set. 'This I like,' he told her, tossing it on the bed.

'Would you _stop it_?' she yelled angrily, pushing him away from her chest of drawers.

'Why?' he asked softly.

'Because it's personal,' she growled.

'I don't care.' He told her, turning back to his task as he randomly grabbed a bottle off the top of the vanity and sniffed the perfume. 'This can come. That other one though, can't.' he pointed at another bottle.

Sakura just stood there, mouth gaping that he'd do something this…stupid. It was so senselessly invasive and pointless. 'Get the hell out of my bedroom,' she yelled at him. 'Get out of my apartment, get out of my _life_ that you just so happen to have ruined.'

'I didn't tell you to steal taffy,' he told her.

It just seemed so randomly stupid, that she'd be forced to do time for some candy.

'I'm just…doing what I'm paid to,' he told her calmly, sorting through her socks with the air of someone being paid to do something they'd pay to do.

**Sabaku no Hime.** Well, that's it for this one. Let's see what the next chapter has in store…


	8. What the Hell?

**The Search for Saltwater Taffy**

**Sabaku no Hime I didn't know my page breaks and banners didn't transfer onto this site! I just found out I have to edit them in here. uh oh, that means I have to go edit call me... happy reading.**

**Disclaimer** pretty standard.

**Chapter 8**

**What the Hell??**

Sakura frowned at the entrance to Sunagakure. Since she was with the Kazekage, she wasn't required to present papers, but frowned nonetheless. Especially when Gaara told the guards that they could stop asking all Konoha nin for their mission scrolls.

'So where am I going if not the prison then, Kazekage sama?' she asked, still angry at him for going through her wardrobe. She hadn't spoken to him the whole trip, much to his apparent amusement.

'I need a personal… person,' he told her quietly. 'It keeps you under lock and key, since you're always with me, or at the hospital, and I get someone to make me tea,' he smirked as they walked through the gates and down the street to the Kazekage's tower.

'You need a dogsbody?' she asked in astonishment. 'You want me to make you tea and cookies?'

'It's either that, or you can go to prison.' He told her calmly. 'If I don't punish you for stealing, the rest of Suna will think I'm a pushover. So you have a choice.'

Sakura frowned at him grumpily. There wasn't much she could do, she didn't want to go to prison, they didn't have separate facilities for women in Suna. 'Fine,' she told him, disgruntled. 'But only because there aren't separate facilities. How long do I have to be your slave?'

'Not a slave,' he told her as they walked down the bustling streets of Suna, heading towards the tower. 'Just more of a personal helper,' he said.

'And how long do I have to be your helper?' she asked acidly.

'Not too long, a few months maybe. Theft of candy is a pretty light offense,' he told her, leading her up the steps to the Kazekage tower.

'A few _months_?' she asked.

'Yes, it's not as bad as the few years in prison you were expecting according to your Hyuuga admirer.' He told her acidly.

'Neji is my friend,' she told him.

'You will not touch him again,' he told her gruffly.

'Make me not,' she challenged, furious. He glared at her as they walked up the stairs to the top of the tower. What she saw in his gaze made her lower her eyes in submission.

'You can't seriously—' she cut herself off as he opened a rough wooden door made of thick, unfinished planks of wood and iron struts.

'It holds up against my cranky days,' he told her absently as he led her into his office. Apparently his office took up almost the whole top floor of the tower; as it was, jumbled with papers and scrolls, covered in dust. The only neat spots in the place were the path to and the desk against the far wall.

'Don't get much done?' she asked offhand.

'Much more than you'd think,' he told her. 'This is all just bad filing.'

She shrugged and ignored the dust to sit on top of the desk.

'So you won't be working at the hospital,' he told her dimly.

'Why not?' she growled at him.

'I'd like some tea,' he told her, nodding to one corner where a small kitchenette was set up.

She frowned at him, and stood up.

x

The days passed easily. She spent most of her time with Gaara, making him tea or snacks to nibble on as he worked. When he stayed the night in the office, she always ended up trying to stick out the all nighters with him, but she slept on a pile of scrolls one night.

The next day he'd had a small cot set up for her.

She tried to train with him, but he didn't train often, or very hard, so she trained alone, under his supervision of course.

The people of Sunagakure got used to seeing the pair of them together, and no longer worried that there was a threat to Suna because the Kazekage had a mednin as a personal servant, on call all day and all night.

When he didn't stay the night at the office, she had her own little room in the Kazekage's house. It irked the hell out of her, having to be with him 24/7.

Then, not too long into her stay, the inevitable happened. She didn't want to come out of her room that day, but Gaara convinced her that Shukaku wouldn't kill her.

She came out dressed in her pj's and her hair was messy from hiding her head under the blankets. Gaara looked… like usual.

At the tower, trying to work, Sakura noticed that he kept twitching and flinched when she got near him.

Of course, this pissed her off to no end, and she didn't bother hiding it. She just let him have it.

'Come on,' she growled at him, 'If I'm interfering in your work that much, give me the day off. I want to get away from you for more than five minutes,'

Gaara looked up at her, frowning as usual. 'No.' he told her simply, and motioned for her to hand him a sheaf of papers in a file folder beside the desk

'Piss off,' she growled at him, whirling and stomping towards the door. When he didn't stop her, she left the tower and headed towards the shopping district.

She went back to the Kazekage's house at the end of the day, happy and relaxed except for the tail he'd put on her. It was the same guy that was in the club that night. Vaguely, she wondered if he'd had the guy there for some reason or other that night.

She found him sitting in a chair at the kitchen table, drinking something that smelled foul and looked evil.

Sakura poured herself a healthy measure and took it back straight. 'What's wrong?' she asked.

He glared over at her. 'You don't know?' he asked.

'Umm, no? I'm not a mind reader.' She replied.

Changing the subject, since he didn't want to talk about what was wrong, he spoke. 'I got news from Temari and Kankuro today,' he told her, fingers flexing on his glass as he twisted it against the table, then refilled it.

'Oh?' she asked, sitting down and refilling herself.

'Temari for some reason, ran after Itachi to hurt or kill or maim him, I'm not too sure which. Right now she's in Snow country, and his trail is almost cold.' He told her.

'There's something there,' she told him. 'I'm not sure why, but there's definitely something there.'

'Yeah,' he agreed. 'Kankuro and Hanabi are getting married. He's agreed to stay in Konoha for purposes of the Byakugan bloodline limit.'

'Why am I not surprised?' she asked.

'Because you saw them together?' he asked, hands flinching again against the glass. He drank more.

'Does Shukaku neutralize alcohol?' she asked him bluntly, drinking another measure.

'No, but he helps me metabolize it faster,' he told her. 'I don't get hangovers, and I can drink a whole lot,'

'Oh,' she drank more.

A knock sounded at the door and a nin burst in, breathing hard. 'Kazekage sama,' he puffed. 'On the edges of our territory, the Akatsuki are burning things like we've never heard of.'

Gaara frowned. 'Did you send a team of jounin out?' he asked.

'Not yet, Kazekage sama,' he told the younger man.

'Good. Don't. They'd just be killed.' He told the nin. 'I'm going. Have my secretary take care of paperwork. Summon two jounin for me, and did you get numbers?'

'I heard it was four Akatsuki,' he nin replied breathlessly.

'Okay, I'll need eight jounin then,' he told the man, and sent him away.

'Alright, we're leaving then,' he told her. 'You have to come with me.'

'Good. Something to do,' she grinned.

'I don't want you to come, but I'm not leaving you here alone,' he said gruffly. 'Pack for a four day trip,' he told her.

'So some rations and clean underwear?' she asked him. He nodded at her.

'Although this might slow you down,' he frowned at her. 'But I can't leave you here.'

'Alright. It's fine,' she told him. 'It won't slow me down. It's almost done.'

'I know,' he told her.

'Then why worry?' she asked.

'Come on, kunoichi, let's see how good you are now,'

Sakura was ready in less than five minutes, with only trail rations and bottled water with some clean socks and underwear in her pack. Kunai pouches secured to each leg and a shuriken holster on each arm.

Gaara seemed impressed. 'Did you bring your medical supplies?' he asked. 'It's Akatsuki, so we're bound to get hurt badly.'

'I've got loads of chakra and some stimulants in case I get tired,' she replied.

'Good,' he led her to the gates of Suna where eight jounin waited at ease. The sun beat down on them, the fading light of day, and Sakura thought she was the only one that it bothered. None of the nin seemed to be sweating or anything human like that.

'Surprise mission,' Gaara told them. 'Have you all been briefed?' at the chorus of yes and nods, he motioned for them to move out.

Sakura followed, last in the group. She wasn't really there because of any talent. She was with the group because the Kazekage didn't want to leave his little prisoner behind. She frowned angrily. She felt like a bloody dog, and it was pissing her off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Late in the night, or early in the morning, she wasn't sure which, the nins decided to set up camp. She'd never figured out how they traveled in the desert with only sand to guide them, but they did.

Camp turned out to be a small dugout shelter under the sand, marked by a sturdy flagpole. It was just a cave dug under the sand and reinforced with brick to keep it stable.

The jounin all crowded into the fair sized space, placing blankets and getting comfy. There was no point in anyone sitting guard, since they'd removed the flagpole and closed the sideways hinging hatch.

It was darker than the blackest night she'd ever seen. Nobody bothered to light something, knowing that the air hole was small, and smoke going out meant nothing coming in, so they all sat in the dark.

She lay against the wall, covered in a blanket, shivering slightly in the dampness. Someone crawled up right next to her, so she raised the blanket to share warmth as she figured all the other nin were doing. She could feel a blanket being shifted around her, atop her own thin one, and then someone crawled under them with her.

Sakura cuddled in, surprised at how comfy it was to lie against someone as skinny as this one was, but she wasn't going to complain since he was warm. An arm snaked around her waist, and she turned to face him, to warm up her nose until the beating heat from the sun warmed their freshly uncovered hideout to unbearable.

She fell asleep sniffing his shirt. Strangely enough, he didn't smell like sweat at all. Damn these Suna nin and their tolerance for heat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She woke up later to find the person she'd cuddled up to barely stirring. The shelter hadn't warmed up much, strangely enough, and she cuddled in deeper for warmth.

A pair of arms curled around her, holding her more securely, and she sighed deeply.

'It's time to wake up, Sakura,' he whispered in her ear, and she felt heat suffuse her face. Didn't it just figure?

'I know, shut it,' she griped at him, moving away as if he'd burned her.

She could almost see his eyes glowing with anger as he approached her crouching form. 'I wouldn't say things like that, were I you, female,' he hissed at her, voice deadly cold.

'Heh?' she offered as he bent over and sniffed her neck. Sakura felt herself trying to shrink away; she'd thought that Shukaku couldn't take over anymore.

When he bit her neck, she made a soft sound of protest.

'It's alright, the others are outside.' He told her in a thick voice.

'Gaara,' she pushed at his chest ineffectually.

He gripped her arms in rough hands, pushing her back down onto the bottom of the shelter. She made a small noise of protest, trying not to fight much since she didn't want to end up shredded bloody bits.

'You won't look at me like that,' he growled in her ear, one hand shifting to move down to the soft indent of her waist. 'I keep you near me all the time, but you won't change how you look at me,' he grated out softly as his hand curled under her waist to pull her abdomen closer to his.

Sakura arched her back, keeping her face as far as possible from his, hoping he didn't bite her. Although, she realized after she'd arched her face away from him, it had had the effect of pushing her belly against his hard stomach. She felt a slight curling of heat in her stomach, and tried to push it away. Wrong.

'Gaara, the jounin are waiting,' she reminded him.

'Yes, they are,' he settled more firmly onto her, flattening her against the floor of the shelter. She struggled a bit to stop the hard floor from pressing right into her spine and heard a soft intake of breath.

She felt the wash of his warm breath over her face, realizing that his own hung just barely above hers. She already knew what he'd decided, and realized that she wasn't too averse. Actually, she realized, he was kind of hot; she liked him, although she wasn't sure she was ready to act on it. Another curl of heat lit in her belly as he started to speak.

'Sakura chan,' he began, 'Do you have anyone waiting for you in Konoha?' he asked, and she could feel the tenseness in his frame.

'Of course I do,' she replied, deliberately obtuse. She still wasn't sure she wanted to act on what was going on here.

'A partner? A lover?' he asked, insistent, voice low and gravelly as his lips closed the space between them.

'No,' she answered honestly, knowing that she couldn't lie to him. Knowing that even trying to lie would break the fragile trust they had. A shiver coursed down her spine as her lips brushed his when she spoke.

'No?' he asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

She shook her head in the negative and waited for his next move in silence.

Lime Alert. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

She didn't have to wait long. Sakura could feel the smile on his lips as they brushed softly over hers, slowly, warm. 'Good,' he whispered into her mouth as he adjusted to take her lips more forcefully.

Sakura allowed him to take her mouth, clinging softly to her lips, letting his hand tangle in her hair. She could feel the tenseness in his body, and then she realized how he was barely any larger than she was, but so very much stronger in some aspects.

'Let me in, Sakura,' he whispered softly, 'Say my name and let me in,'

She started to frown, he was getting a little weird here. Say his name? What was she, a slut or something?

'Say it,' he growled against her lips, insistent, angry. 'Tell me you know who I am; you never, _ever_ say my name,' he ground out, trying to pry her mouth open with his tongue. 'Tell me,'

She remained stubbornly silent.

'Tell me that you're not closing your eyes and pretending that my name is Sasuke,' he begged against her. 'Tell me that I mean something to you,'

'Gaara—' she gasped at him, hurt.

He took the opportunity presented, the one he'd had to work for, and slipped his tongue into her mouth a tiny bit. Just a taste before he retreated.

Lime Fin ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzz

'Gaara,' she said, breathless, 'The villagers.'

'The Akatsuki attacked, and burned down a few buildings,' he told her. 'All the villagers are safe. We're just on a search and destroy,' he assured her as he sat up.

Sakura almost wished the sand would swallow her up when they exited the shelter. All the jounin were pretending that they didn't know what was going on, but their feigned ignorance embarrassed her even more.

Later in the evening, after a long run, one of the female jounin took her aside after slowing down to catch pace with her.

'You're Kazekage sama's personal medic?' she asked. Sakura nodded, glancing at her bright blue eyes. 'And his girlfriend I can assume?'

Sakura frowned. 'More like his whore,' she growled.

The jounin's eyes widened in horror at her statement. 'You can't mean that,' she gasped. 'The Kazekage isn't like that—he's never even had a girlfriend before.'

Sakura made a noncommittal noise and the jounin frowned. 'You can't mean it.' She said certainly. 'Maybe he's trying, but you don't realize it. He's had a rough life, and doesn't know how to treat people. You can't just say that the Kazekage took you as a whore,' she defended vehemently. 'If anyone else hears something like that, they'll tell the Kazekage; he'd probably be pretty angry to hear that,' she warned.

Sakura shrugged. The jounin's eyes widened, and Sakura just _knew_ that Gaara had somehow been listening in on the whole conversation. The jounin made a sketchy salute and sped up.

'That's what you think?' he asked from beside her. She didn't even turn to look at him, just shrugged and kept running, face forward. 'Is that what you think, Haruno Sakura?' he asked again in a stern, cold voice.

She just ignored him.

He made a sound and stayed by her side throughout the whole run.

When they got to the village, they decided it was likely best to split into four person teams to scout the area for any sign of the Akatsuki. They were to stay in contact via headsets and report back every few minutes.

'If either side doesn't report a position for more than two minutes,' Gaara said, 'You will assume the other team is in trouble and make your way to their last reported coordinates. They should be easy to find from there,'

Nods of assent. 'Very well. Haruno Sakura, as a prisoner of Sunagakure, you will come with me, and not leave my side. Deis, you are in charge of the second cell. Pick your team.'

Sakura followed with two other jounin, and made sure to keep close to Gaara. He and the second cell kept reporting every thirty seconds or so, and she kept her eyes peeled for anything remotely Akatsuki.

They found absolutely nothing.

Sakura landed on the ground near the other three, frowning. 'It's an illusion,' she said softly. 'For the last couple of minutes, we've been in an illusion.'

Gaara and the other two jounin, Eryn and Zane respectively, stared at her.

'Dispel,' she made a quick hand signal and the illusion of empty sand dunes leading down to an oasis disappeared, replaced with bleached bones sticking out of the dunes closer to the oasis.

'It was a very good one,' Gaara said. 'I was fooled.'

Sakura frowned. 'We've seen the same dune, with the same hollows in it five times in the last minute or two. It was strong, but not very expansive. Let's report to Deis' cell,'

Zane pressed a button on his headset, getting only static.

'Shit,' he swore. 'I think we're in trouble.'

'Their last coordinates,' Eryn said, recalling them instantly. 'Let's go.'

'I'll keep an eye out for illusion,' Sakura said, knowing that the rest of them wouldn't be able to tell. She grabbed a few kunai from her leg holster and followed the group for a moment, until Gaara fell back to grab her by the arm.

'I told you not to leave my side,' he growled at her. She shrugged. 'This is the Akatsuki we're dealing with, Sakura. You're under my care, given to _me_ by the Hokage, and I won't see you hurt.'

Oho, so that's how it is then? She thought to herself as the cell containing the Kazekage of Suna ran towards the oasis spring.

They came upon a bloodbath, although most of it was old blood, she noted. The trees were splashed, and all the jounin in cell two were wounded, and looking angry.

Sakura watched as a man with a mouth on his hand formed something out of clay and sent it flying towards a couple of the jounin. Having seen this before, she grabbed the nearest tree out of the sandy ground, swung it around and smashed the bird against it.

The clay wielder just stared at her, mouth open in shock.

'I'm not as useless as you think,' she told Gaara quietly.

'I never thought you were useless,' he told her softly, then in a more stern voice 'But you_ will not_ leave my side, or I will have you put in irons when we get back and have Tsunade turn you over for court-martial due to insubordination,'

She made a sound of contempt and threw a couple kunai at the man with a mouth in his hand.

She didn't notice the shuriken headed towards her until a shield of sand blocked her right side.

'What the hell?' she shrieked.

Gaara just looked at her, and pulled her close as he sent his sand out to do some damage.

Sakura threw a couple of shuriken at the Akatsuki, finding the chakra signatures of the other two hiding behind some rocks.

'I'm not a distance fighter, Gaara,' she told him, trying to pull away.

'Then stay by me and heal at the end,' he growled, grabbing her waist to prevent her leaving. 'I don't want you to kill anymore trees. We have a hard enough time growing them out here.'

'Isn't that cuuuuute?' one of the Akatsuki Sakura recognized as Kisame asked. 'He doesn't want his little girlfriend hurt…'

'So sweet, yeah,' replied the one with a mouth in his hands.

'Deidara, send her something, would ya?' Kisame asked as he stopped playing hand to hand with four of the jounin and pulled out his Samehada.

As Deidara was molding something with the mouth in his hand, Sakura angrily fuelled chakra into a kunai and sent it whizzing towards his head.

He ducked without looking up, but flinched a little bit when a large boulder near him exploded. 'Bitch,' he offered genially.

'Bite me,' she called over to him.

'Gaara, you have to let me do something,' she growled at him as his sand shield went up again when the explosive bird came near.

'I am taking care of it,' he smirked, not letting her waist go as his sand snaked over, hiding amidst the blowing semi desert sand of the small oasis they were fighting in.

Suddenly, the sand that was Gaara's condensed on one of the Akatsuki that had been hiding behind a boulder. 'Desert Funeral,' he called, fisting his hand in the air.

The Deidara and Kisame looked up in time to be sprayed with the blood of their companion, and matched frowns.

'Tanuki bastard,' Deidara yelled as he disappeared.

Kisame didn't even say anything, just popped out of existence there. The third chakra signature was gone in just as little time.

Sakura frowned, setting down to healing the injured jounin.

'Why bring all the jounin and get them hurt if you can take care of it yourself?' she asked as she brought her chakra to bear on a kunai embedded-in-the-stomach wound.

'I can't take care of it myself,' he replied, letting her go long enough to examine an arm wound that looked nastier than it was on Deis.

**Sabaku no Hime**. This wasn't what was supposed to go on. It was supposed to be done now. But it's so damn hard to make Sakura _like_ Gaara, let alone _fall _for him, and he's being stubbornly bad. He was supposed to be the witch turned prince from Rapunzel, but it isn't working. Maybe next time he'll be nicer.

I don't know if I like this story anymore, but since I already have it written to the conclusion, I'll post it. It's a lot longer than I'd anticipated, and the characters are really hard to control.


	9. When did the Witch Turn Into a Prince?

**The Search for Saltwater Taffy**

**Sabaku no Hime:** there's a little lime in this chapter. I'll have it marked, so all of you who are disturbed by makeout scenes can skip it over. (or those of you who are too young)

**Disclaimer…again?**

**9 When did the Witch Become a Prince?**

Sakura healed the jounin of all the more serious wounds they'd received, with Gaara bandaging the rest until she got to it. Having not bothered with her medical case, she was reduced to ripping of shreds of her shirt and the bandages she had covering her otherwise bare legs and arms from the desert heat.

The trip back was pretty much silent, since everyone was tired and injured. When Sakura's chakra was back up a little bit, she started healing the less life-threatening wounds on the Suna jounin.

The group paused a few hours a day to nap and eat, then went on again. In this way, they made the trip in less than the two days it was supposed to take.

Sakura didn't talk to anyone. She just didn't want to. She was still angry at Gaara for not allowing her to fight alongside the rest of the group. She'd only gotten to throw a couple kunai and one tree at the Akatsuki.

Briefly, she wondered how Temari was doing with Itachi. He'd seemed like he'd wanted to get caught, just to get some attention from her. Where had they met before?

When they finally reached Suna, Sakura practically ran for her room to crash in the bed after a shower. She hated the fact that Suna didn't have rivers all over to wash up in, hated that it was so hot, hated that she was pretty much joined at the hip with the Kazekage.

She just wanted to go home.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ break

She woke up later to the dark coldness of night feeling refreshed and antsy. She wanted to go home.

Briefly, Sakura wondered if she could cause enough trouble for Gaara to make him want to either jail her or send her home.

But he could still put her in jail.

Damn it.

She tossed on some shoes and snuck out the window to go for a walk. She knew she didn't need to since Gaara rarely slept, but she just didn't want him to know what she was doing for a few minutes.

Carefully avoiding the holes in the sand in the backyard, she made her way through the tough desert plants that grew in the sand to the front, and snuck down the pathway past the walls of the garden.

'I'm getting sick of warning you of what can get you jailed every few minutes,' he told her from his spot on the roof.

'I'm kinda not used to being a prisoner.' She shrugged.

'I realize that.' He stared up at the sky for a few minutes, so Sakura took that as a cue to join him.

She hugged her knees close to her chest and wrapped her tan robes tight around her; it had never failed to surprise her how bloody cold the desert got overnight.

'Is it even worth it?' he wondered; Sakura didn't respond. 'I mean, you stole some candy. You've been here for a month, done everything I asked of you and haven't shown me that you hate me yet.'

She shrugged when she felt the weight of his gaze. 'Doesn't matter.' She said, offhandedly. 'If I had to do ten years in prison to smooth things over for Suna and Konoha, I'd do it.'

'Hn,' he replied. 'You'll stay in Suna for another month, that way the people know I won't go easy on criminals from _any_ village,' he went on.

'But I'm not in prison,' she remarked, laying back on the roof. 'You have gone easy on me.'

'Not particularly,' he replied, going no further with it.

'Oh,' she shrugged. 'I'm going for a walk, are you coming?'

'I was thinking of making some taffy,' he told her. 'But there's no one to eat it. Kankuro and Temari always ate it and passed it out to kids.'

'Well, we can pass it out to kids tomorrow,' she offered.

'I really don't have time.' He frowned. 'I have a lot of paperwork that the secretary can't care for.'

'I'll help you with it, that way we can give out candy in the morning,' she chuckled.

He glanced at her, 'I'd either have to kill you or take you as a permanent hostage if you saw my paperwork,' he told her.

'Oh. That sucks.' She frowned.

'Unless you were going to stay in Suna with me,' he added jokingly.

Sakura glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. For some reason, his face didn't match the tone of his voice. His face looked pretty serious.

She shrugged. 'Like I could,'

'Do you want to?' he asked. 'It can be arranged if you wanted to stay with me- us.'

Sakura felt dizzy, and put her arms over her face. 'You can't be serious.' She offered him, hoping he took the way out.

'What if I was?' he turned, she heard him shift to face her and lie down on the roof beside her.

'I don't know what I'd do then,' she answered honestly.

'Stick around for a while,' he offered. 'See if you like it here without being a prisoner. If you like it, you can stay. I'll arrange things with Tsunade.'

She looked at him sharply. 'Why do I get the feeling that it's not Suna you want to see if I like?'

He shrugged. 'Do I have to say it?'

'It's probably easier if you don't.' she replied. 'So I can't help you with the paperwork then.'

'Not a good idea.' He nodded. 'So taffy is out then.'

'Hrm, what can we do then?' she asked.

'Let's go see Junko,' he replied. 'I haven't been over for scotch in a while.'

'Did Kankuro really try to marry you off to one of the dancers?' she asked with a chuckle as they stood and leapt from the roof to start a sedate walk.

'Yes. He did.'

'I guess that went over really well, didn't it?' she asked with a laugh.

'I found one I like, though not then.' He answered back.

'Can we just leave it for a little while?' she asked, glancing over at him uncomfortably.

'We have to talk about it sooner or later,' he told her gruffly.

'No we don't.' she replied, cheerful. 'We can pretend it never happened.'

'We could. But then why go for scotch at the Matchmaker's?' he asked quietly.

'Because you like her scotch, and the dark wood and white linen room that you get to sit in?'

'Good point.' He answered as he led her down the alleyway that housed Junko's.

They went in through the back way, and were greeted by a man in tuxedo, only to be ushered into the linen room almost instantly.

Sakura sat down on a chair in the conversation grouping, leaning back and resting her arms on the rests. Gaara went over to a sideboard nearby and grabbed some things if the tinkling of glass was anything to go by.

'Kazekage sama?' came Junko's cheerful voice in the door.

'Enter, Junko,' he replied as she bowed her way into the room. He looked pointedly at Sakura. 'That's how most people treat me,' he told her.

Junko looked up in surprise, a frown spreading across her face as she noticed Sakura. Junko considered her for a moment and smiled. 'I told you he liked you, didn't I?' she asked mischievously.

Sakura shrugged a bit as Gaara poured drinks and Junko made herself comfortable on a small settee.

'So what brings you two back?' she asked bluntly. 'I thought you'd be married by now.'

Sakura laughed. 'It's a little more complicated than that,' Gaara nodded his assent and drank deeply.

'Well, what happened?' Junko asked. 'By the way he was looking at you, I figured you'd be married inside a week, and here it is, months later and she doesn't have a ring on. Kazekage sama, what's _wrong_ with you?'

He turned pink around the ears and Sakura decided she enjoyed his discomfort. 'I'm kind of a prisoner of Suna,' she said. 'I stole some taffy for my best friend, who was pregnant. And I got caught.'

'Is that so?' Junko glanced over at Gaara. Sakura briefly noted the look they shared. He knew something and Junko knew something, but they didn't want to mention it around her.

'Yes, that's so,' Sakura replied, drinking her scotch and settling more comfortably into her chair.

'Then you'd be in prison.' Junko told her. Sakura noted Gaara's slightly distressed face, and smirked.

'Then maybe you can explain why he gave me another option, because he sure won't.' she said, pursing her lips.

She watched Gaara shake his head at Junko and frowned. 'I _know_ he likes me, Junko san,' she said, getting irritated. 'But that doesn't change anything'

'Are you sure about that?' Junko asked quietly, sipping her scotch. 'The two of you are here for something, and I'm not quite sure what it is, so I'm just going to leave the two of you to discuss it.' She said, standing.

'We're just here to visit, Junko san,' Sakura protested.

Gaara frowned. 'It's too hard to talk about it at home,' he said as he watched Junko's retreating back.

'Why's that?' Sakura asked, refilling and emptying her glass.

'Because, it's my home. I'm not used to talking about certain things in my own home. So I just don't. We can talk about it here.' He said quietly, looking at the closed door.

'What is it then?' Sakura asked.

'Can I say it now?' he asked bitterly. 'Or are you going to tell me to yet again not to tell you that I'm falling in love with you?'

Sakura's stomach dropped and she refilled her glass a few times in silence. What the hell was she supposed to say to something like that?

She knew she was blushing, but she couldn't help it.

'You already knew it, Sakura,' he told her calmly. 'It's not a big secret.'

Things she'd taken as isolated incidents as they happened suddenly seemed to be very, very connected when she looked back on them. The night at Junko's, in the sand shelter, why he hadn't put her in prison.

'So, it wasn't that you're setting an example for Suna, but you were trying to manipulate me?' she asked, slightly hurt.

'No.' he replied. 'I was going to let you go after a week or two.' He drank more scotch, downing it in one gulp. 'And then I just wanted to have you near me; I was hoping you'd start to look at me as a friend, and maybe a lover.'

Sakura drank more scotch and leaned back in her chair, body unable to support her weight anymore. She was sort of shocked, but not quite. He'd dropped a few hints here and there; as if staying in his very own home wasn't a hint. She wondered briefly why she'd never realized it was more than a few random kisses.

'It was never about… what you thought,' he said softly. 'And I never wanted you to feel like a whore.' He looked down at his glass and drank more.

Sakura blinked, and tried to lift her hand to get her glass, since Gaara had refilled it, but for some reason, lifting her arm was way too much effort right then.

'Say something,' his pupilless aqua eyes snagged hers and refused to let go. She still couldn't see much emotion in their depths, he was too good at schooling his face, but the fact that his eyes were wider than usual gave it away to her.

She only knew because she'd spent over a month with him, all day and all night near him.

'Say _anything,_' he let his face make an expression, and he looked like he was begging. 'Please, say something,' he _was_ begging, it wasn't her imagination or her ego running away with her.

Suddenly his gaze dropped, down and away from her, and she could see the apology forming in his mind before the words started to come out.

'Gaara,' she forced out through numb lips.

'Gomen,' he offered, drinking deeply, eyes still averted. 'I should never have assumed. I don't even really know what love is; I couldn't expect you to care if I don't know how.

'I just hoped, since Shukaku was screaming at me to make you my mate, and I wanted to keep you near me. I just wanted to make you happy.' He breathed deeply, plowing on even though he wasn't a talker. 'It's… you can go back to Konoha in the morning. I'll stay in the tower tonight,'

Sakura took a deep breath, willing her numb mouth to work somewhat. 'It's—Gaara,' she said softly. 'I don't know how I feel about you. It's not like when I thought I was in love with Sasuke.'

He shrugged. 'It's not your fault,' he told her. 'It's too sudden, and it's too…unacceptable. Your precious people wouldn't want you to stay, even if you did.'

'You're not letting me finish,' she told him, finally gaining the kinetic energy to move again. She stood up and walked over to him, sitting right beside him, her side pressed up against his on the settee.

'Don't,' he grunted. 'It _hurts_,'

'I feel something for you,' she told him, putting an arm around his shoulders; she realized that he was shaking as he tried to shrug off her touch.

'Don't,' he growled at her. 'Don't touch me, don't give me hope.' He turned to face her, his own becoming a mask of anger. 'Don't hurt me anymore.'

'Gaara,' she said softly, watching him get angrier. She did the only thing that she thought might make him listen to her at that moment.

LIME ALERT

Sakura pushed him over until he lay uncomfortably on his side, legs dangling off the settee, head resting on the armrest as she pinned him there, straddling his slender waist.

She pinned his shoulders back as his face registered shock, then grew angrier. 'Stop it, kunoichi.' He hissed at her.

'Shut up,' she growled at him a moment before she took his mouth.

'Stop—' he muttered into her mouth, a protest as he tried to push her away weakly. She just kept him pinned and took the opportunity to taste the inside of his mouth. He tasted like scotch and something indefinably… Gaara.

She didn't let up until the arms that had been halfheartedly pushing at her circled her waist and shoulders in welcome.

He growled at her when she paused for breath, and said something she never thought she'd hear from him 'Stop, Sakura, you don't want this,' he ground out in a strained voice, tight with hurt. 'You don't want _me_.'

'Wrong,' she smirked at him, taking his mouth again and letting her hands trail over his strong shoulders and chest.

LIME FIN

Suddenly he pushed her off him, pinning her shoulders to the back of the settee and stared straight into her eyes, trying to read what was in her mind and heart.

'If you want me, then it won't be here.' He told her. 'You need some time to think, and so do I. We'll walk home, and see how we feel then.'

'It's fine, Gaara,' she smiled at him seductively.

'The first time needs to be in a bed. Preferably my _own_ bed in my _own_ home.' He told her, standing up and offering her a hand. 'And maybe not tonight.'

'How did you know?' she asked him softly.

'Know what?' he helped her to her feet.

'You're kidding, aren't you?' she asked, eyes wide.

'Nobody wants to sleep with a demon container trained solely for murder and mayhem.' He paused, considering. 'Except maybe you.'

Sakura shrugged. 'Well, the first time should be memorable. I imagine you're a pretty memorable partner.' She joked.

_Your _only_ partner._ Gaara was nervous that he'd allowed Shukaku to say it out loud, so covered it by talking. 'I wouldn't know.' He mused, taking her elbow and leading her out of the Matchmaker's slowly. Their goodnights to Junko were followed by her amused and knowing smile.

'Does it bother you that Shukaku is going to know what's going on?' he asked her quietly.

'I don't know,' she answered. 'Is he going to come out and take part?' she asked in horror.

'Oh, god no,' he chuckled. 'He'll just know what's going on, and likely start referring to you as his mate all the time.'

'Heh,' she made a nervous face. 'So this isn't just… trying things on for size, is it?'

'You are my chosen partner,' he told her, face ominously shadowed against the moon and darkness of the unlit city as they walked slowly towards the home of the Kazekage.

And towards the bed of the Kazekage. 'You can, of course, stop me at any time; but be certain that Shukaku and I won't stop trying to have you as mate.

'I'll follow you to Konoha and seduce you slowly.' He told her. 'Shukaku has spoken of romance to me, as has Temari. I've read some of her romantic books as well. If you don't want me yet, then I'll melt your defenses until you can't stop thinking of me. I'll do what I must until I am all that you want.'

'Okay, stop,' she said, eyes wide. 'Let's just go home and talk for a bit, hey?'

**Sabaku no Hime**… okay.

I just realized exactly how much drinking is in this chapter, and through the whole story! Craziness I tell ya. I don't drink much, and nowhere near the amount Sakura and Gaara have been downing. Nor do I mean to sound like alcohol is a great beverage or anything like that. Maybe I should make it tea. They need something to do with their hands, and she can't be fussing with her hair or clenching her fists all the time...

Next chapter is a lot of fluff. Most likely a lemon. If it is, it'll be in the chapter title and you can skip it if you're too young or disturbed by it. There'll be no plot advancement, so it'll just be a very short chapter.


	10. Chapter Lemon

**The Search for Saltwater Taffy**

**Chapter Lemon**

Disclaimer I own nothing. Except maybe a very deeply ingrained romantic streak and a love for the mysterious anti hero and the occasional sympathetic bad guy. Strangely enough, my own guy is probably the nicest person I've ever met; not a hint of bad boy or anti hero about him.

On with the show…

Gaara opened the door to his home and allowed the kunoichi to precede him into the dim house. He'd left no lights on, nor had he cared to. He could see well enough in the dark due to the help of Shukaku.

His whole body felt like it was going to explode. Shukaku was screaming around in his head, although not trying to hurt or punish him this time. He was all but dancing in triumph, telling him to mark her, mate her and make lots of babies with her.

He figured they would probably wait on the babies for a while yet, although Shukaku supplied him with an image of the pink haired nin pregnant and smiling for him. It was very appealing.

She turned on one of the lights in the kitchen, and Gaara felt himself wince at the brightness, although he was glad to be home. With his chosen mate.

He wanted to smile, to touch her, hold her, ask if she loved him.

This was a big chance he was taking, he knew that. He'd seen people deeply in love break apart over stupid things and large, insurmountable problems. He didn't know if his mate would ever try to kill him, although he knew his sand and Shukaku would defend their container. He wasn't sure if she just wanted to use him, play with him and leave him in the dust with that horrible pain in his chest again.

He couldn't handle that pain again, the betrayal of a loved one was almost too much to bear.

He didn't want to take the chance to care for her, but he already had, and there was no going back now. He just hoped that she didn't betray him, or hurt him too badly.

Sakura turned to face him, gut fluttering softly. What was she going to do? Did she want to sleep with him now, or did she want to talk to him for a while and decide whether or not it would be a wise thing to do.

'I'm going to go lay down,' Gaara told her, making his way slowly through the kitchen. 'You're welcome to join me, or not at your pleasure. If you come, there will be no pressure.' He finished.

'I'm coming with you,' she replied, taking a deeply fortifying breath.

When they got to Gaara's room, he went inside and turned on a bedside lamp that gave off a soft illumination, so that she could see the room. It wasn't large, it wasn't crowded. There was a futon on the floor and a small chest of drawers beside a closet. Some clothing was hanging over the side of a laundry basket and the walls were almost bare.

She saw a few photos on his nightstand and one of the sandsibs with cell seven minus Sasuke on the wall. She remembered that one. It was right after the Akatsuki attack on him to steal Shukaku. Naruto was making a silly face over Gaara's head, Kakashi was reading, Sakura was grinning beside a smirking Temari who leaned on her fan. Kankuro knelt in the front with his puppet beside him. Gaara was sitting in the middle of the group, protected. They'd all stood around him protectively, although she hadn't been aware of it at the time.

Other than that, the only wall decoration there was were the inside window shutters to hold out sandstorms. They were neatly folded and painted a dark brown.

Sakura sighed deeply, breathing in the scent of the room. Sand, and more sand with a faint undertone of some kind of soap.

She went over to the futon and sat down, shifting the blankets so that she was on the sheet. 'Come, let's lay down,' she said softly.

Gaara followed quickly, sitting on the other side of the futon and yanking off his shirt before he laid down. Pillowing his arms behind his head, he met her gaze. 'Come here,' he told her, holding an arm out.

She nodded and lay down beside him, coming closer to his naked chest. 'So what's next?' she asked, voice seemingly overloud in the silent room as she shifted deeper into the sheet. White, she noted, slightly distressed.

'We decide if you want to do this now, or if you'd like to wait until we know each other better.' He told her, voice dark and smooth like thick chocolate.

Sakura raised a brow at him and shifted closer, taking his mouth with her own. His reaction was instant, arms coming around her as he flipped her onto her back, taking control of the kiss as if he'd initiated it. She felt his tongue slip between her lips, and met it tentatively with her own until his hand went to the bottom of her shirt, when she froze.

Gaara stopped moving and looked at her, she could feel his gaze boring into her, telling her to open her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to do it.

'We should stop,' he told her softly, warm hand brushing gently over her stomach, pushing her shirt up just a tiny bit. 'Now isn't the right time,'

Sakura breathed in and let it out on a sigh. She didn't mind it, really, she told herself. She was more than ready for this… she was a grown woman. 'Yes it is, Gaara,' she told him, smiling softly and opening her emerald eyes to meet his as she wrapped her arms around him a little tighter.

'Are you sure?' he asked, and at her nod, sighed deeply.

Sakura smirked and pulled off her shirt after pushing him off of her. She was reaching for the ties on her jeans when he stopped her. 'Don't' he said. 'Let me,'

She nodded, and he reached up to kiss her, arms going around her again, reaching for the tie on her breast bindings. Sakura arched her back, nervous, but reminded herself that she'd wanted this.

He finished releasing her from her bindings with a soft grunt and took the weight of her breasts in his hands, gently cupping them, tracing them with a fingertip and then his tongue.

'Gaara,' she arched her back, enjoying the feel of his mouth on her, his messy hair brushing her every now and again, tickling a little. The warmth of his body at her side, he felt slightly bony, and his muscles seemed very hard, but she liked how he felt.

She just decided it would likely be best to focus on how he was making her feel, and how he felt so close, naked chest against her side as he nibbled on her neck and traced silly designs on her stomach with feathery touches from his fingers.

Sakura smirked to herself and turned to face him, bringing her breasts into direct contact with his chest. She heard his harsh breath and felt it expelled onto her face as she reached down to untie his pants. He helped her, all but ripping his pants off, then attacking hers.

He smirked at the funky boyshorts she was wearing, having seen them before when he was going through her wardrobe in Konoha.

Then he was pulling them down, and getting off the bed to yank off his own boxers.

Sakura felt the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach grow, along with the heat and insistence of desire she felt for him. It wasn't like she'd never seen naked men before, she'd seen hundreds… but they tended to be… uninflated because they were either sick or injured.

She pursed her lips and glanced up at his face, seeing glassy, glazed eyes, flushed cheeks and soft, kissable lips.

Glassy eyes… she mused to herself.

'Sakura?' he asked, voice soft. She smiled at him warmly and then he was beside her, not asking anymore questions. Then he was above her, settled firmly between her thighs and the next thing she knew, there was a small tearing sensation inside her and his pelvic bones were pressing painfully on tendons.

She grunted and he returned it, starting to move. She wasn't sure if she liked how stretched and vulnerable she felt, nor how submissive her position was.

He bit her neck, not bothering to be gentle, and started to move more, making a slight groan in the back of his throat. That's when the discomfort and oddness of the feeling turned into something hot and sharp. Gaara was feeding that for her, and all she could do was let him, and hope it ended soon because she thought she'd scream if the end didn't come soon.

But he carried on, as young men tend to do, and she couldn't help it anymore, giving into the quaking and hoarse moan that marked a full body spasm of intense pleasure. When the aftershocks finally subsided, and she could breathe again instead of short gasps, she managed to open her eyes.

Gaara hovered above her, still moving, and she could feel him deep in her, stroking against the perfect spot, and starting the build of heat again, this time a slow burn. He had an expression of sublime male pride which he had the decency to cover when she widened her eyes at him.

Then he shifted so that they lay on their sides, facing each other as he grabbed her hips and began to move faster.

When his body finally started to spasm, she enjoyed the harsh, helpless cry that escaped his throat as he jerked against her and dug his hands into her soft flesh, certainly unaware that he was doing so.

When it was over, he pulled her in close to him, breathing softly against her shoulder, arm over her stomach and legs twined into a knot with hers.

'I love you,' was all he said as he held her closer still.

She'd been expecting that one.

**Sabaku no Hime**… well, that was… unsatisfying. They were so nervous and uncomfortable with each other I thought they were just going to leave the room. And what's with Gaara making all sorts of confessions, anyway? That's just not like him, is it. Although, I do realize that people tend to act in unusual ways when under the influence of strong emotion, (or strong alcohol) but that seems a little…weird. O well. Next chapter is the last I think.


	11. Epilogue Aftermath

**The Search for Saltwater Taffy**

**Tomboy14- the most faithful reviewer I've had... the last chapter is for u!!!**

**Chapter 11**

**Aftermath**

**1 month later…**

Sakura dove below the kunai headed towards her face with a smirk. 'You have to be faster than that, Naruto,' she called.

Naruto just scratched the back of his head. 'But I don't want to hurt you, Sakura chan.'

'You have to try,' she chided. 'It's the only way I'm going to get any better.'

Naruto threw another shuriken, but she saw what was coming. He'd used a henge to throw the large shuriken, and he was pretending to be the shadow; they'd used that trick on Zabuza when Sasuke had been with them.

She let the shuriken hit her henge and sat back high up in one tree, a smirk of satisfaction on her face.

That expression quickly turned to one of horror as she felt sand covering her legs, snaking up and pulling her out of the tree she was taking a break in.

She fought angrily, furious. There was no way she could break out of that as long as Gaara had his concentration on her. It wasn't just her who couldn't break free; when he was trying, he'd never lost a victim of desert coffin.

She blinked innocently at him as she hovered in a coffin of sand slightly above the ground.

'You ran off on me, for _this_?' he asked, gesturing to Naruto and Lee whom she was practicing with.

'I was in a hurry,' she told him defensively.

'Gaara kun,' Naruto yelled over at him, bounding over with all the energy of a young puppy. Sakura snickered as Gaara was knocked over by the classic Naruto-favored tactic. An I-missed-you hug from Naruto was often like being hit in the chest with a ton of bricks.

Sakura caught herself gracefully as the desert coffin gave under Naruto's friendly hug and the shoulder-punching where-the-hell-have-you-been?

She ran over to Lee, who decided to become her shield as Gaara stood up, sand holding his friend at bay. He stalked over to her with a frown on his face. 'Step aside, Lee,' he said darkly.

'I'll protect Sakura with my life,' he proclaimed dramatically. 'Taffycell lives on!'

'Taffycell?' he asked, confused.

'Hai, when Ino was halfway through her pregnancy, we ended up going recon through a few hidden villages for taffy. We finally found it in Suna. I hope the people were appeased by the money we left,' he mused. 'That's why we're Taffycell!'

Gaara shook his head. 'Taffycell?' he frowned. 'So it wasn't just you and Hanabi and Itachi?' he asked.

Sakura stiffened and Lee just made his nice guy pose. Sakura watched Gaara cringed as the _shing_ from Lee's sparkly teeth hit his ears. 'How can teeth make noise?' he grumbled.

'_Lee_, you weren't supposed to tell him that,' she whispered, wishing he hadn't been off on missions when she was taken to Suna.

'What _else_ haven't you told me, Sakura?' he growled.

'What does it matter, anyway? You don't own me, I don't have to answer to you,' she growled back defiantly.

'Yes you do,' he replied with a smirk. 'I'm higher rank than you are.'

She glared at him.

'Why didn't you just stay home?' he asked pleasantly. 'It would have been easier to find you there.'

'Because I have things to do,' she told him, pushing past Lee, who made a disgruntled noise, shrugged and walked off, saying something about youth and romance. 'I can't stand still to wait for you, Gaara,' she chastised.

'Oh, come on, you couldn't sleep in ten minutes with me?' he frowned.

'I'm still a Konoha nin,' she told him. 'I still have things to do.'

'You'll be a Suna nin by nightfall,' he told her. 'You should listen to your Kazekage,'

She frowned at him and stuck her tongue out.

'Oh, come on,' he huffed. 'Tsunade didn't give you a mission on your wedding day, did she?'

Sakura shook her head. 'Then come on.' He grabbed her shoulder. 'Naruto! Lee!' he called loudly. 'Ramen time.' Tsunade certainly had not given her a mission on her wedding day, although she hadn't been terribly happy to lose her apprentice. Sakura could still remember her grumbling and talking about merging the medics of the two countries...

Naruto looked up instantly, stars in his eyes and a puddle of drool forming below his chin on the ground. Lee looked over from where he and Tenten were sparring and called over to Neji.

'Why can't I get time alone with you?' he grumbled, cranky. 'We're getting married, not the whole of Konoha.'

'And Suna?' she added cheerfully. The sand sibs and several other of their friends from Suna had come for the wedding. Most notably Junko, with a big old bottle of scotch as a wedding gift.

'When you belong to Wind, you'll have to listen to me and do what I say,' he grumbled at her.

'Sure,' she mocked.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ break

On the way back to Suna for their halfway-honeymoon-halfway-work thing that was supposed to be relaxing, nothing too crazy happened. They didn't hear anything from the Akatsuki, oddly enough, nor any other missing nin.

Temari had run ahead, having decided to leave the newlyweds alone for a while. She seemed to have given up on killing Itachi; Sakura couldn't fault her for that one, though. Killing Itachi was almost impossible. Even Sasuke had ended up a bloody, beaten pulp for his efforts.

She figured he was just best left to do his own thing, as long as that thing didn't involve killing others.

'_Blades of Wind!_' came the cry from just ahead of them, and Sakura could feel the residual power from Temari's attack.

She glanced over at Gaara, and as a unit, they ran to catch up with Temari and defend her if necessary.

Gaara stopped her at the edge of a mowed down area of trees where Temari could be seen panting heavily, fan at her side, face furious.

Standing calmly in the middle of a hundred and fifty years worth of damage, Itachi smirked at Temari.

Sakura almost didn't recognize him, since he wasn't wearing an Akatsuki robe, but the robes of a traveling Suna citizen. The only reason he looked like Itachi was the panama hat with a bell on it hanging from one hand and the dark, funky hair.

'You stopped coming after me, kunoichi. Was it _that_ hard to find me?' he asked in a mocking tone.

'You're here now, so I can kill you,' she hissed viciously.

'You don't want to.' He told her.

'Yes I _do_,' she screamed. 'I hate you, you destroy everything you touch, and you do it on purpose!'

'I've grown very…bored… with destroying things.' He offered, looking at his nails. 'I think it might be more interesting to _make_ something, don't you, Temari?'

'You can never be forgiven, and you can't be pardoned for what you did,' she yelled over at him.

Gaara whispered softly into Sakura's ear, 'I think we shouldn't be listening, ne?'

Sakura nodded. 'We can't leave without her, though. She's your sister, and I don't want to leave her out alone, especially with Itachi on the loose.'

Gaara snorted into her ear, 'If he wanted to kill her, she'd be dead a thousand times over, my wife.' He told her. 'Itachi doesn't want her dead.'

'But what if he does something bad to her, or tries to take her with him?'

'Uchiha,' Gaara called, coming to stand by Temari.

'Kazekage sama,' he bowed a little and smirked as Sakura took Gaara's other side and held his hand. 'And wife now?'

'Uchiha, what do you want with my sister?' he growled.

'Quite obvious, isn't it?' Itachi made something like a leer over at Temari's furious form.

'How far are you willing to go for her?' Gaara called to him. 'What would you do to get the one you want?'

'Depends,' Itachi narrowed his eyes and approached.

Temari readied her fan, standing defensively, and Gaara put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 'It's alright. I've got it.'

'It depends, Kazekage sama,' he answered, coming within ten feet of the trio. 'What are you asking in exchange for your sister?'

'Would you leave the Akatsuki?'

Itachi scoffed. 'I already did. I grew bored destroying, I've already said.'

'And they let you live?'

'Not so much. Deidara and Kisame have a body to take back to leader. I carved his eyes out myself.'

'So you killed him?'

Itachi laughed softly. 'No, we found him in a grove of trees outside Konoha. I think he was a thief or missing nin, but he'd been killed. It was silly; the body was a couple hours old,'

Temari frowned at him, and Gaara smirked. Sakura just hoped Itachi was done being stupid.

'And how do you intend to earn pardon from Konoha and Sunagakure? You murdered your clan, and Temari won't go far from Suna.' Temari frowned at Gaara, and he squeezed her shoulder.

'Don't know, don't care.' He said coldly. 'I could take her right now if I wanted to.'

'You could try.' Gaara returned.

'It might be an interesting fight,' Itachi smirked. 'But I'm lazy today. Look, I haven't even taken her from you yet.' he added as proof.

'Itachi san, what the hell is going on with you?' Sakura asked, unable to stay silent any longer.

'An Uchiha always gets what they want,' Itachi told her with a slight smirk.

'Not this time,' Temari growled.

'Are you willing to bargain for pardon?' Gaara asked. 'Hokage Tsunade sama might pardon you for some certain… information.'

'I have two pieces of information I will part with,' Itachi said. 'They're vital to Suna and Konoha.'

'What else?' Gaara asked. 'You're the one trying to be pardoned here.'

'I don't care, really if I'm pardoned.' He shrugged.

'Then why?'

'I want to rebuild the clan, of course. Differently this time.' He said.

'You need the pardon then, for your children.' Sakura whispered.

'Yes, in time, I will require a pardon.' He acknowledged. 'I don't want Temari to have to be far from her loved ones.'

'You're talking like I want something other than to kill you, Itachi teme,' she growled, turning away.

'We'll talk soon, Kazekage sama, Sakura san.' Itachi bowed. 'I'll see you soon enough, Temari,' he called at her back, before disappearing.

Gaara raised a brow at Temari's back, and Sakura frowned. 'I don't want Itachi to hurt her.'

'He won't,' Gaara smirked at her. 'Come on, we're going home.'

Sakura sighed and caught up with him, wondering when she could start at the Suna Medical Facility. Between the Suna and Konoha Med nin, they should make some serious progress, very quickly.

She was glad the alliance was tight between the two countries.

**Fin**

**Sabaku no Hime** that last part focused entirely too much on Temari and Itachi I think, although I don't think there was much more to write about Gaara and Sakura. In this one, they live happily ever after, and he still gets her firstborn child, although he wasn't going to stick the kid in a tower or anything…

Anywho, I'm thinking of writing the Temari/Itachi bit. That's a crack pair if I've ever heard of. (sound like a good idea?)

Vive les crack pairings!!!

anyways, thank you to all of you who've read, and a big hug to my reviewers! It's meant a lot to me, especially the past few weeks when I was trying to cope with my gramma dying. (she was my last grandparent, and we've always been very close). It isn't the best story, since the writing style changes from haha to more of a serious note, but it was an escape for me.


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